Learning To Grieve Together - Kelly & Miguel Cervantes

<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW11380423 BCX0"> In this episode, we talk with <a class="Hyperlink SCXW11380423 BCX0" href= "https://www.kellycervantes.com/about" target="_blank" rel= "noreferrer noopener">Kelly</a> and <a class= "Hyperlink SCXW11380423 BCX0" href= "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1321706/" target="_blank" rel= "noreferrer noopener">Miguel Cervantes</a> about their daughter Adelaide, who lived with epilepsy and complex medical needs. Kelly and Miguel share what it was like to parent a child who couldn't speak or move but who still made her preferences known – including smacking her brother when she was done playing and loving anything by Frank Sinatra. They talk about the very different roles they occupied during Adelaide's life: Kelly as a full-time caregiver who became fluent in her daughter's medical world, and Miguel, who moved in and out of that world while performing eight shows a week as Alexander Hamilton in Chicago.<span class="EOP Selected SCXW11380423 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559685":0,"335559737":0,"335559738":240,"335559739":240,"335559740":279}"> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW11380423 BCX0"> We also talk about grief that followed when Adelaide died in 2019, just before her 4th birthday. Kelly describes the secondary loss of her identity as a caregiver and Miguel talks about what it meant to step onto a stage each night and, at times, find his own grief story overlapping with Hamilton's. Both parents reflect on how differently they grieve — Kelly's grief as something that pours out in what she calls "werewolfing," and Miguel's as private and internal — and how learning to recognize and support those differences became a turning point in their marriage. They close by talking about their son Jackson, and what they've learned about supporting a child who grieves on his own terms.<span class= "EOP Selected SCXW11380423 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559685":0,"335559737":0,"335559738":240,"335559739":240,"335559740":279}"> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW11380423 BCX0"> We discuss: <ul> <li class="Paragraph SCXW11380423 BCX0">Adelaide — her personality, her humor, her love of Sinatra </li> <li class="Paragraph SCXW11380423 BCX0">The different roles of parent and caregiver </li> <li class="Paragraph SCXW11380423 BCX0">Miguel's experience moving between the hospital and the Hamilton stage </li> <li class="Paragraph SCXW11380423 BCX0">"Werewolfing" — Kelly and Miguel's very different ways of grieving, and how they learned to support each other in those<span class= "EOP Selected SCXW11380423 BCX0" data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559685":720,"335559737":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":279,"335559991":360}"> </li> <li class="Paragraph SCXW11380423 BCX0">Secondary losses: grieving an identity, a routine, a sense of purpose, alongside grieving Adelaide</li> <li class="Paragraph SCXW11380423 BCX0">Finding meaning through advocacy, writing, and music in Adelaide's honor </li> <li class="Paragraph SCXW11380423 BCX0">Parenting their son Jackson through his own grief, and learning he needed support that didn't come from them </li> </ul> </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW11380423 BCX0"> About Kelly and Miguel Cervantes: Kelly Cervantes is a writer and advocate whose books include <a class="Hyperlink SCXW11380423 BCX0" href= "https://normalbroken.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noreferrer noopener">Normal Broken</a> and <a class= "Hyperlink SCXW11380423 BCX0" href= "https://www.kellycervantes.com/theluckiest" target="_blank" rel= "noreferrer noopener">The Luckiest</a>. She serves on the boards of CURE Epilepsy and the Undiagnosed Diseases Network Foundation. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mig.cervantes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miguel Cervantes</a> is an actor and singer known for originating the title role in the Chicago production of Hamilton. </div> <div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW11380423 BCX0"> Kelly and Miguel will be joining Dougy Center in Portland, Oregon, on October 27th, 2026, for our Focus on Hope luncheon. Visit <a class="Hyperlink SCXW11380423 BCX0" href= "https://www.dougy.org/events/focus-on-hope-2026" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dougy.org/hope</a> for details. </div>

Learning To Grieve Together - Kelly & Miguel Cervantes

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