A writer who lost her only child to anaphylactic shock has laid bare the heartbreaking reality of her struggle with grief.
Tina Hedin, 62, says she is “on the brink of destruction” since the devastating death of her daughter Kierstin, whom she called Kiki, at the age of 25.
Her nightmare began on January 8, 2023, when Kiki suffered a severe food allergic reaction that could not be reversed with her EpiPen.
She was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was placed in an induced coma, but sadly died a few days later on January 13.
“I entered the world of pain and discovered that when the worst happens, the cruelest part is that it doesn’t kill you,” Hedin wrote in his Blog. “The pain makes you wish you were dead, but you have to keep going.”
Writer Tina Hedin, 62, who lost her only daughter, Kiki (far right), to anaphylactic shock, has laid bare the heartbreaking reality of her struggle with grief. In the photo: mom and daughter with dad Eric.
Kiki suffered a severe food allergy reaction that could not be reversed with her EpiPen on January 8, 2023.
Hedin laid bare his grief on his blog, Letters from Turkey Town, which he is using to process his loss.
The grieving mother has turned to writing to help her process her loss and her place in the world now that her only son is gone.
He cherishes the last time he was with Kiki, the day after Christmas in 2022, when they pored over an art book, a passion they shared.
In a separate trial for New York TimesHedin describes breaking down over something as trivial as losing a water bottle at the gym because “some days I just couldn’t take any more losses.”
“I was the mother of a 25-year-old boy,” Hedin wrote. “I had a young man who loved me, belonged to me, connected me with the world of young people.”
After she was first admitted, Kiki’s parents prayed for her to make a full recovery.
“She is a strong girl and has always been a fighter, so we only think about positive things,” father Eric wrote.
Since her daughter’s death, Hedin has packed her bags in New Hampshire to hit the road in a van with her husband.
The couple were very close to their daughter and her death left them heartbroken, a loss that was compounded by the death of Eric’s mother later that year.
She was the couple’s only daughter and died a few days later after being placed in an induced coma from which she never woke up.
Kierstin, or Kiki as she was known, died on January 13, 2023 at the age of 25 following anaphylaxis.
Hedin described how the pain of her loss makes her wish she were dead, but that she must move on.
“We don’t cry in public anymore, or not often,” Hedin said. ‘But December is a minefield. I find myself getting angry and upset, crying over nothing. Although it’s nothing. It’s one thing. The irreparable.
In a Facebook post marking the anniversary of his daughter’s death, Eric’s pain was still palpable.
‘One year ago tonight, Tina and I laid our heads on Kiki’s chest and listened to the last beat of her heart. “We stayed with her for a while after that, applied her lotion, brushed her hair, talked to her and hugged her one last time,” he said.
‘Since then there have been all the firsts without her: birthdays, Halloween, Christmas, Father’s and Mother’s Day, and each one has been a challenge.
“I don’t want to be thought of as the poor guy whose daughter died, but as the guy whose daughter lived a great life and left a great impression on so many people.”
The couple now plans to honor their daughter by getting the same tattoos she had.
Hedin is also channeling his grief into his newsletter ‘Letters from Turkey City.’
Eric Hedin says he wants people to think of him as “the guy whose daughter lived a great life and left a great impression on so many people.”
Kiki’s story has echoes of the death of Órla Baxendale, 25 (pictured), who suffered an allergic reaction to cookies from a Connecticut store so severe that not even her EpiPen could save her, according to her lawyers. family.
“Not everything is sad here,” Hedin wrote. ‘My inspiration for writing comes not from my daughter’s death, but from the power of her life, her sense of humor, and her love that lives on.
Kiki’s death was one of 1,000 anaphylaxis deaths that occur among Americans each year. A fatal outcome is a rare but very real threat for people with allergies.
