10: Grief: Marcia and Amanda Arreola - Jonathan's Giving Tree

Quote: "Let's pray for all that are left behind, most of all to deal with the pain.

Marcia Arreola is a woman who knows the pain of losing a child. Her 19-year-old son Jonathan was killed in a single-vehicle accident.  Marcia and her daughter Amanda share their story of living through grief and channeling that grief into helping others.

In her social meeting postings, she had Kobe Bryant's parents in mind, as well as Vanessa Bryant, Kobe's widow, who also lost a child, Gianna.

 

Marcia became a grief counselor and recently founded Jonathan's Giving Tree. By providing assistance to families during the grieving process she strives to provide hope, encouragement, and understanding to begin the healing process of losing a child.

It has taken her 15 years to get here. It took all this to see how the loss affected Jonathan's dad and his 2 younger sisters. She understood that the death of a child is a mental health issue that affects the whole family in a way that only those who have experienced the loss can understand.

This episode is in honor of the families of all nine onboard the helicopter that crashed: John, Keri, and Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser, and pilot Ara Zobayan.