A memorial garden where families can honor the memory of their child who has died is coming to the Parkview Campus of Mid Coast Hospital, planned and provided by the not-for-profit Madeline’s Mission.

The garden, named the Madeline’s Mission Children’s Memorial Garden, will be installed on land near a pond and will include a butterfly sculpture to honor each child recognized in the garden.

“Mid Coast–Parkview Health is proud to be a part of this important tribute to those who have left us far too soon,’’ Lois Skillings, President of MCPH, said in a press release. “Healing comes in many forms, and we hope parents and loved ones who visit this garden find comfort and peace as they grieve and remember. It is an honor for us to join with other hospitals who have supported a special place of remembrance like this.”

The garden is the first of its kind in the Midcoast region and is part of the mission and vision at Madeline’s Mission to rally the community to support and uplift families who experience the untimely death of a child. They will have a special place to memorialize their child. Madeline’s Mission will also organize annual gatherings in the space to bring families together.

“As a mental health therapist, I have witnessed the importance of reflective time and space in the grief journey,” said Allison Thompson, a Madeline’s Mission Board member. “We live in a very fast-paced and at times, challenging environment where a lot of individuals and families do not have safe spaces to share the love and loss of their special loved ones with the community. To have a designated space, embraced by a respected community will be therapeutic and healing.”

The announcement of the children’s memorial garden comes at a meaningful time for the organization, as it celebrates the birthday of the organization’s namesake, Madeline, who would have turned 9 this August, but she died at the age of 4 after an aggressive battle against a brain tumor.

“In the future, I envision this garden hosting butterfly release gatherings for bereaved Mother’s Days,” said Amie Marzen, Madeline’s mom and the organization’s president. “I can see siblings who have experienced loss coming to the garden, especially on birthdays or anniversaries. They will see they are not alone in having a brother or sister that is no longer growing up with them. I can also see families introducing rainbow babies (babies born after a loss) to their sibling’s butterfly as a family’s way of keeping their child’s story alive. Saying their names is so important to bereaved families, they never want to feel as though their child has been forgotten.”

The butterflies Marzen speaks of are central features of the garden. Fixed into a granite base, bronze butterflies will sit atop stainless-steel rods. Families will be able to personalize a butterfly in memory of their child.

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