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Tony & Kelly Trent discuss their journey of grief after the loss of their son Tyler to a rare bone cancer. Tyler’s story is unique in that his story went national. Tyler’s story has been told on TV, videos, articles and a book. He is still an inspiration to millions and his name and likeness continues to raise millions of dollars for pediatric cancer research through the Tyler Trent Foundation.

The Trent’s have been so thankful for all the care and love shown to their family. At the same time, they are grieving parents. Like all of us who have lost a child there is a grieving process that can take you to dark places in life. Tony and Kelly talk about the impacts the grief took on their personal lives and their family. Their willingness to candidly share their personal story of grief aligns with what so many of us have experienced. As Kelly say’s “grief is brutal”.

Grief is personal for each of us. The support people in life that show up in unexpected ways can help impact the recovery. Tony and Kelly, like most of us that have lost a child, are a work in progress on the recovery journey. Their story reflects the dichotomy of conflicting views that can both be true at the same time. An outside look at their life may view all the positives that have come as a result of Tyler’s journey, which is true. The other side that is also true, is the personal grief and pain that loss of Tyler has impacted on their family and personal life. That journey of grief has altered their lives forever.

Their story is inspiring that over time the strongest fundamental core values in life can guide you on the road to recovery. For the Trent’s; faith in God, marriage, their family and a mission to eradicate the cancer that took Tyler life have helped keep their focus on the most important things in life. The road to recovery is long and challenging with daily obstacles and grief that can smack you at any moment.

To learn more about the Tyler Trent Foundation go to https://tylertrentfoundation.com

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A father reflects on his son, who lived doing everything in life the right way. It was a reflection of a family that lived by faith, mission, purpose, hard work and love. A role model young man from a role model family and tragedy strikes through a medical condition.

Wale brings a unique perspective as a father and trained medical professional. Wale is a psychiatrist and his wife Ann is a pediatrician. Wale describes his son passing while on the phone with them in the middle of the night over 700 miles away. It was later discovered that Kayode passed from an undiagnosable deep vein thrombosis (DVT) that caused death, through a pulmonary embolism (PE).

Kayode was several months from finishing his master degree. He was a disciplined young man in mind, body and soul. He was working toward goals in life that encompassed a sense of purpose and impact larger than himself.

Wale discusses how their family bonds have helped them support each other as they work through the grief of losing Kayode. Family, friends, co-workers and a faith in Christ have helped in the recovery process. Navigating their grief is a work in progress for Wale and the entire family.

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Welcome to the Critical Junctures Podcast. This podcast is for parents who have lost a child and are navigating the loss of that child. Today is our first official release of the podcast and website. This is the five-year anniversary. Of my son's passing. A few days before my son's passing, he looked at me and asked the question, Dad, did my life really matter?

And as a father, you look and go, you can't imagine how much your life mattered to the people that you touched. It reminds me of a message we heard at church from a guest speaker who came and talked about the brevity of life, the brevity of life, the brevity of life. They told a story about visiting a grave site of his ancestors who laid a foundation for his grandparents and his parents and his children and his future grandchildren.

Every person in life has an impact on someone else. Sometimes those lives are cut short, and their impact is for a lesser amount of time, but no less impact.

I am doing this initial podcast from the grave sites of both my father and my son. My father's passing was very difficult for me. He had been involved in every aspect of my life. Every major event that I had, he was there for it. But that's the natural progression, children bury parents. It shouldn't be the parents bury children, but the reality of life is that does happen, and it happens more often than we'd like to believe. There's a number of stories that we're going to be sharing on the podcast of parents who have lost children.

They've lost them through accidents. They've lost them through drug overdoses. They've lost them through medical conditions, through cancer, similar to, to Richy's. They've lost them to suicide. They've lost them in war, lost them to criminal acts where they were murdered. All of those losses are incredibly traumatic, but the grief is a similar grief shared by all parents who have lost a child. Losing a child does not make a difference if you're wealthy, poor, middle class, if you have the greatest job in the world, or if you don't have a job, it doesn't matter. Economic status, it doesn't matter. All of the fortunate things or unfortunate things that have happened in a life, when that death comes to a child, it's a grief that's enduring that every parent goes through.

My hope in this podcast is that we can share. Through the stories and shared experiences of others who have gone through it, ways that help you understand that you're not alone in it. A lot of times, death of a child is very isolating. When the child's lost, there's a lot of people there that are supporting you. They're there for comfort. They're there to celebrate the life with you and share in your emotion and, support. But the loss of a child goes on, and a year from now, five years from now, can be very isolating and lonely. There are parents that are 20 years removed from the loss of a child, still struggle to talk about it. Don't want anyone to ask. It's not about not remembering their child, but that pain is still so powerful in their life that it can be overwhelming. Theirs’s other parents you'll see that have taken that grief and turned it into missions. Missions to eradicate pediatric cancer, missions to eliminate fentanyl coming into the country, missions to stop violence before it can happen. Ones that can stop drugs from being shared in our communities that take lives. So, all of these stories are each person's unique journey and each parent's unique journey. But the common thread for all of us is that grief never goes away.

This week in our neighborhood, I saw celebrations of both high school and college graduations. There have been babies born, weddings happen, anniversary celebrations, even events that you remember for a long time with great, just positive memories. Indiana University getting to play my beloved Notre Dame

Loss of a child creates enduring grief in 93% of parents. We have lost a child and this is our story of love, loss and navigating the grief. We created Critical Junctures - Navigating the loss of Child Podcast to help other parents navigate the loss through our shared experiences. The podcast will focus on interviews of parents who have had to deal with similar experiences. Lessons they have learned through the lens of time can provide help with navigating this deep hurt and impactful loss. Our prayer is that you will find comfort, a sense of peace, and hope through the shared experiences of other parents.

Parents who lose a child face one of the most traumatic experiences in life. The purpose of this podcast is to share with others who have lost a child that there is recovery. Hope critical junctures will explore the choices that grieving parents have made to determine the course of their future life, the loss of a child.

Can affect mental health, relationships, marriage, other children, friends, jobs, hobbies, outlook of the future. Loss of a child can create an emotional, physical, and psychological effects that last a lifetime. Critical junctures is defined as a critical turning point or important moment in time, often marked by a confluence of circumstances.

Where decision, choice, or action can have significant impact on the future. My name is Rick Williams and I'm not recovered from the loss of my son and do not believe I ever will. He passed away almost five years ago, and I had many years prior to his passing to make peace with the inevitable death from a rare cancer.

In no way am I saying that we have figured out a magic formula to minimize the grief and trauma of losing a child. We have found intentional ways to honor our child's memory while finding peace and joy and living in the present. In critical junctures, we be sharing and interviewing other parents who have had some time and space from the loss of their child.

They'll be sharing insights and lessons they have learned about ways to cope with the loss. We all still feel the sting of that loss and it will never leave. You can live a life of peace and fulfillment, still mourning your loss, but learning to celebrate the life and time you had with your child. For us, we've realized how important the support people in our life have been through this journey from family, friends, pastors, work associates, caregivers, and even pets.

Their support has had a significant impact in our recovery journey. On this podcast we will talk about and interview some of these extraordinary people whose gift of time and acts of kindness have been so impactful. Losses come in many forms for us. A rare cancer took our son and we'll explore his journey and how it changed our perspective of life priorities. Others have lost a child in an instant. All of our stories are unique, but in the end, we all have the same impacts of a child that is no longer with us. Most of the podcasts will focus on the recovery journey view through the lens of time and space. If you've lost a child, our prayers are with you beyond the impact of the loss of the child.

There are other immediate impacts that parents deal with depending on the age of their child. My son was 29 when he passed. And through his long bout with cancer, we were able, prior to his passing to financially plan for the impact of his passing, put a will together and address many important topics. Even with our time to plan, there were many items and expenses we had not contemplated. We are building a website, critical junctures.com that helps parents navigate these added challenges while dealing with the unimaginable grief. This will be a work in progress that we will continue to build as a resource for parents of all ages.

These types of stressors on top of grief can add to mental health challenges of the loss and long-term recovery. As we start this podcast, our hope is that your journey will be helped by the stories of others who've had to navigate this loss. All of our stories are unique to us, but we all have experienced common threads that provide life lessons.

To lessen the recovery time, please share with anyone you believe would benefit from the messages of the Critical Junctures podcast. The official release date of Critical Junctures podcast will be June 1st, 2025 with a regular schedule of episode releases to follow. Subscribing and sharing will help us connect with grieving parents that may benefit from others with from other stories.

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The moment a doctor diagnoses your child with an incurable cancer marks a dividing line in life—everything that came before, and everything that follows. For our family, learning about Richy's alveolar soft part sarcoma transformed our world completely. But what emerged from that devastating news was a remarkable nine-year journey that taught us profound lessons about living in the face of death.

This raw, emotional episode chronicles Richy's story—from his ambitious plans for studying in China and building a future, to the painful reality of clinical trials, increasing limitations, and eventually hospice care. Yet through it all runs a powerful thread of determination. When faced with his diagnosis, Richy embodied the line from Shawshank Redemption: "You either get busy living or get busy dying." He chose living, continuing to travel to national parks, Disney World, and numerous adventures with his beloved dog Lexi by his side.

What makes this story extraordinary isn't just Richy's courage in facing terminal illness, but the peace and purpose he maintained throughout. Despite excruciating pain from treatments and the cancer itself, "you never heard him complain." Even as his body failed him, his spirit remained strong—culminating in his decision to be baptized during the pandemic, surrounded by family and friends in a deeply moving ceremony.

The true heart of this podcast, however, lies beyond Richy's passing in June 2020. How does a family continue after such profound loss? How do we keep someone's memory alive for future generations? Nearly five years later, we're sharing our ongoing journey of grief, healing, and finding unexpected joy in remembering. Because while losing a child creates an irreplaceable void, we've discovered that hope persists—and that honoring a loved one's memory can become a powerful foundation for moving forward.

If you're walking through grief or supporting someone who is, this series offers not just our story, but practical insights on navigating life after devastating loss. Because even in our darkest moments, there remains the possibility of light breaking through.

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My son loved travel. A business trip that took me to the Middle East, North Africa and Europe would have created conversations for months. During my travel, thinking of how much Richy would have enjoyed the conversations and discussions. He is no longer with us but his passion for travel and learn about cultures, geography, religion, politics and the things that shape a region, country or city. He would have loved the discussion. These memories of our time together talking on these subjects allow me to treasure even more these trips and create such fond memories of my son.