Surrounded by support
By AIMEE JUAREZ
Paramedics walked a young mother to a monument Wednesday afternoon where they honored the memory of her 8-year-old son.
Heather Russell hugged the people who tried to save her son Isaac’s life after a car crash in late October.
Every time a child younger than 17 dies in York County, the York County chapter of Safe Kids contacts the child’s family to hold a tribute, York County Safe Kids Coordinator Robert White said. Safe Kids tries to raise awareness on preventing accidental injuries to children.
The dedications are usually low key, held by EMS officials and family members of the child. By the end of December, York County Safe Kids expects to have held three dedications.
As Russell hugged the paramedics, Carol Kiparisus looked on from the audience.
This isn’t the first time Kiparisus (pronounced Ke-PAR-i-sus) has met a grieving mother. As part of a support group that works with grieving mothers, she meets women, like Russell, all the time.
But it’s not an easy job. Events, like Wednesday’s dedication at the Safe Kids memorial, evokes the memory of her 26-year-old son’s funeral.
Her son, John Charles Gregory Jr., died in a crash in Lexington, near Columbia, almost three years ago.
Wednesday’s dedication made Kiparisus, 53, remember “going up to his casket, saying my last goodbye,” she said. “Not wanting to let go.”
Russell’s son was sitting next to his father, Randall Isaac Russell, 24, in the passenger seat when his 2002 Dodge crashed into an oncoming truck while heading south on S.C. 557 in late October.
Isaac’s father died at the scene. Isaac was taken to Carolinas Medical Center, where he died a day later after suffering head and chest injuries. Isaac’s sister, Lainie, now 3, was riding in the back seat, buckled up in a child safety seat. She suffered head and neck injuries, but has made a full recovery, family members said.
Randall Russell’s mother, Ivy Dodig, held Lainie during the dedication. Wrapped in blankets, Lainie wore a head brace. The toddler almost broke her neck in the crash and could have been paralyzed, her aunt, Tina Hall, said.
“She’ll survive,” Kiparisus said about Heather Russell. “It’ll be hard, but she has that little one and that will be her embrace to love and get through it.”
Kiparisus and friend, Evelyn Cook, 53, drove up to Rock Hill at the request of S.C. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Bryan McDougald to offer support to Russell and her family during the dedication.
Kiparisus hugged Heather Russell when the dedication ended. She said Russell told her she would consider calling Kiparisus about her support group for women who have lost a child, Mothers Out Mourning Support of South Carolina.
“I told her that the hole in her heart will always be there. She will always miss, but the hole will shrink and it will get better,” Kiparisus said. “It’s not going to be like it was. You learn as time goes by what’s going to work for you, what to focus on and what’s going to be the best thing for you.”
Safe Kids Worldwide aims at raising child safety awareness. To learn more about the organization, visit www.safekids.org.