'I know they'd be proud' – Grief-stricken mum who lost two sons to launch bereavement group
A grief-stricken mum who lost two sons - including one in a River Severn tragedy - has insisted there needs to be more support for bereaved families.
Shane Game, mother of 31-year-old Toby Jones who died after falling in the river last April, believes many are left to suffer in silence and solitude.
Now she has set up a bereavement support group to reach out to people who may be fighting a battle with grief on their own.
"There's not a lot of support out there," she said. "After Toby, I was given some counselling, but it felt cold. And then once you've finished, it's onto the next. Grief doesn't work like that.
"I'm not a counsellor, but I've got life experience, so hopefully this bereavement group will be something that can help people who are going through a similar thing."
Toby's death came almost 10 years to the day after that of his brother and another of Shane's sons, Ben Hughes. Ben, aged 28, had a congenital heart condition and was given a heart and lung transplant. He raised thousands of pounds and huge awareness for organ donation through his campaigning and blogs in the Shropshire Star.
"It still hurts," said Shane. "It hurts every day. It's like there's a knife in my heart. Not everyone understands.
"But this is giving me purpose. I want to try and help other people who are going through it.
"It'll be a place for like-minded people to support each other."
After Ben's death, Shane launched a support group for bereaved families at a local pub in Shrewsbury - a place for those facing similar heartbreak to have someone to talk to. Now, she is relaunching it at Mystique Wellbeing in Harlescott, run by Jane Lightfoot.
The group meetings will be held every other Tuesday at Mystique Wellbeing in Ennerdale Road, Harlescott, Shrewsbury, from April 25 - which would have been Ben's 40th birthday.
"When we arranged it and I said I wanted to get March out of the way and Jane opened the diary and it landed on Ben's birthday," said Shane. "It felt like it was a sign."
Jane is letting the group use the facility for free. She said: "It'll be a place where people can feel safe and they won't feel judged. It's open to everybody. Even if you've lost a relationship... that's still a form of grief. Everybody processes grief differently. If every soul helped another, the world would be a much better place."
For Shane, she knows in her broken heart, Ben and Toby would want her to try and help others as they try and mend theirs.
"They were amazing," she said. "They had everything to live for. I know they would want me to do this and they would be proud."
Anyone who would like to visit, the first meeting will run from 12.30pm to 2.30pm, and the same time every other Tuesday thereafter at Mystique Wellbeing in Ennerdale Road, Harlescott, Shrewsbury. There will be tea, coffee, biscuits and tissues provided.
