Single mom of 11 lost her 2-year-old son in car accident—8 years later, an unexpected joy helped her heal

The loss of a child is a shattering experience no one can explain. To find meaning and hope in life again after losing a piece of yourself is a pain no one could ever wish on another. A mom named Crystal was heartbroken after losing her two-year-old son, Je'siah, Newsweek revealed. The little boy passed away after an accident. Her daughter, LaTinique, revealed that despite the brutality life threw at her, the single mom kept showing up and doing her job as a mother to the rest of her kids. She deserved to find healing, and she did so through the most beautiful story woven by fate. 

As a single mother of 11, Crystal had to keep going after the unexpected loss of her son. As the family went through a painstaking period of grief, trying to make sense of their loss, they looked for hope and healing. "Strongest woman I know. Your story deserves to be heard over and over," LaTinique wrote in a video she shared on Instagram. How she “still got up every day and went against the odds” was baffling to the young woman. Crystal only had granddaughters, and somehow there was a void of her little Je'siah. In her Instagram posts, she shared several posts about her late son and how she yearned for another day with him. 

As this year marked what would have been his 11th birthday, she penned a heartbreaking caption in a post. “Today just doesn't seem real. I’m supposed to be getting you dressed right now, getting you ready for your birthday party, not sitting at your tombstone begging God for the strength to get through today, although all days are hard,” the mom shared. She mentioned how she tries to stay strong for her other kids but holds back tears every second of the day. “My soul feels so empty. Today is your birthday. You would be 11 years old and you’re not here with me,” the mom wrote. 

Another post capturing the tombstone of the little boy adorned with flowers held an equally loud silence of the family’s pain. Hope and fate came together and after eight years of Je'siah's tragic passing, the mom began to find comfort. LaTinique was blessed with a baby boy and she couldn’t help but realize how he became a connecting link between Je'siah and Crystal. In her video, she revealed how broken, pale, unresponsive and shattered the mom was when she lost her son. She fast-forwarded to glimpses of the grandmother-grandson interacting with each other and wrote, “Watching my son fill the spark my mom lost years ago.” 

The grandma's eyes lit up again, a little more color in her life. She was in pain but also somehow healing. In another video, the woman explained how her son’s name was inspired by that of Je'siah's. "It seemed like her happiness returned. All of a sudden, it didn’t feel like her emptiness filled up the room,” her daughter said. It was relieving to feel that her mom no longer walked with a “dark cloud over her head.” Aziel is not Je'siah’s replacement but rather “a piece she has gained.” “Everyone heals in their own way. With her having to raise more grandchildren and them being named after the son she lost, she is more active and very lighthearted,” LaTinique added.

You can follow Crystal (@mrz.knockout) and LaTinique (@official.latinique) on Instagram for more content on family and parenting.            

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