13 Aug Love, from Lincoln: A Mother’s Promise To Honor Her Son

By Sydney Meeks, mother of Lincoln (9/23/2017 – 10/5/2018)

Lincoln died in 2018, just 12 days after his first birthday.

I don’t remember where I read it, but somewhere in a book or a Facebook post someone posed the question “How do you mother a child who is no longer here.”

That question shaped me in many ways in the following years. The desire I have for not only his life, but his death to make a difference.

One of the ways I have chosen to remember Lincoln is through support of the SUDC Foundation. We spread awareness about SUDC every year for Lincoln’s birthday. I am also an SUDC Ambassador and Peer Connection Friends volunteer. I have dubbed our yearly awareness projects “Love, from Lincoln” because it is my desire to manifest our love for Lincoln in tangible ways that affect our community and the world at large.

None of this would be possible without the support of family and friends. From collecting over 400 books for our local library, to my brother running the NYC marathon – I am well aware that the support I have is not same for other bereaved parents. That is one reason why the work of the SUDC Foundation is so important. I am grateful for their
initial and ongoing support, even years later.

To the parents reading this – everyone’s grief journey is different.

Do not use my story as a yardstick to see where you measure up.
Do what you feel is right for you, where you are right now.

There is no one way to walk the road we are on.