COVID-19 deaths continue to rise, and so does the number of people left behind grieving.

Jeannie Robinson is a bereavement specialist with LifePath Hospice who provides counseling to those who have lost a loved one.

“I have fewer and fewer in person,” Robinson said. “Most are online or they would like a telephone call.”

It’s a level of social distancing that has not only added a new layer to traditional counseling, but also to a person’s grief, as people find themselves unable to be bedside at the time of goodbye.

“That is probably the toughest part.  I had a client say to me, 'I don’t even know what my daughter’s last words were,'” Robinson said. “They’re being separated from their loved ones physically but they’re also being separated emotionally. And that’s just tragic beyond belief.”

Robinsonn said the first and most common symptom clients present when she speaks with them is shock.

“Especially with COVID.  Because some of the time a person appears to be getting better and then takes a turn for the worse,” Robinson said. “I had some clients whose father was supposed to be released and they were going to pick him up and then the next phone call was, 'You better come out because it’s gotten worse.'”

Researchers equate it with the grief experienced as the result of a natural disaster because it’s extremely traumatic and often sudden and can lead to what’s known as complicated or prolonged grief.  Isolation through that process can make matters even worse.

Which is why Robinson recently formed a COVID-19 loss support group.

“The worst feeling someone can have is the feeling of being alone,” Robinson said. “Or the feeling you are the only one who’s ever experienced this.”

Which is far from the case, as we know all to well more than a year and a half into the pandemic. Robinson said it’s her mission to help those suffering understand it will get better.

If you or someone you know is interested in grief counseling, contact LifePath Hospice at (813) 877-2200 and ask for bereavement. Counseling is offered not only to hospice families but all Hillsborough County residents who experienced the death of a loved one.