Firefly Chat - Special 2-Hour Event
November 8 - 12:00PM - 2:00PM EST
Visualizing Loss, a Film Premiere

Join us for a special 2-hour film premiere and panel discussion of the newly created film, Visualizing Loss.

‍Bereavement experiences following the death of a child remain largely hidden. Using Collaborative Filmmaking, five families from across Pennsylvania share their bereavement experiences. Their films show the complexities and depth of their grief journeys in an effort to foster understanding and deepen awareness following the death of a child. The screening of Visualizing Loss will be followed by a panel discussion with the parents and members of the Collaborative Filmmaking team.

This project, funded by the McElhattan Foundation, is a partnership between the Pediatric Palliative Care Coalition and the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. Registration information coming soon for this FREE event!    


Presenters:

Parent Panel:

Allyson - Timothy's Mom
Cassie - Jack's Mom
Maureen - Isaiah's Mom
Megan - Ryder's Mom
Tara - Elizabeth's Mom

Project Team:
‍
Sara - Collaborative Filmmaking Project
Jessica - Collaborative Filmmaking Project
‍
‍This special panel of parents agreed to participate in the Collaborative Filmmaking Project. Each mother with the help of family members put together a short film to honor and memorialize the lives of their children. Each individual film is a unique creation where a child is remembered through words, pictures, songs and creative works. The Collaborative Filmmaking Project team took each individual submission and wove them together to create a moving and touching 70-minute film titled, Visualizing Loss.

Join us as we journey together with each of these moms to get to know the deep meaning and personal effect that their children had on them throughout their lives and after they died. As you view the film, you will see celebration, joy, heartbreak and a strong desire to understand the meaning of each child's short but impactful life. Through this film, these children's memories remain alive and inspirational.

‍‍Moderator:

Dana Dombrowski, MSW, LSW
Social Worker and Psychosocial Program Coordinator
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Dana Dombrowski graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2003 with a BS in Family Development and a minor in Sociology. She went on to attend graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania where she received her Master’s degree in Social Work in 2005. Upon completion of this program, she obtained her LSW and was hired by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as a Pediatric Oncology Social Worker. She worked in that position specializing in patients with a terminal cancer diagnosis, grief and loss for over 8 years. In 2013, Dana joined CHOP’s palliative care team (PACT Team) as a social worker and the psychosocial program coordinator.