A Walk to Remember: Loma Linda Families Find a Place for Love, Loss and Healing
An October 18 gathering at Loma Linda University Church will offer families affected by pregnancy and infant loss a meaningful opportunity to remember the children who remain part of their lives.
There are some losses that change a family forever, even when the rest of the world never had the opportunity to know the person who is gone.
For parents who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of an infant, grief can arrive with a particularly painful silence. There may be few photographs, no birthdays celebrated together and no years of memories to share. Yet the love parents carry for their children is no less real.
On Sunday, October 18, Loma Linda University Health will create a space for those families to come together through its annual A Walk to Remember, a gathering dedicated to honoring babies who have died and supporting the people who continue to carry their memory.
Scheduled from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Loma Linda University Church, the event coincides with Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Organizers describe the gathering as an opportunity for remembrance, healing and connection among parents, relatives and loved ones.
For families, the significance of such an event extends far beyond a single afternoon.
Pregnancy and infant loss can affect people in different ways. Some parents grieve privately. Others seek support through family members, counselors, faith communities or people who have experienced similar losses. Grief may return unexpectedly around holidays, anniversaries or the milestones a child would have reached.
Public remembrance provides something that everyday life does not always offer: permission to speak openly about a child whose life was brief but deeply meaningful.
The gathering also reflects Loma Linda's longstanding relationship with families facing complicated medical circumstances. As a regional center for maternal, newborn and pediatric healthcare, Loma Linda University Health serves patients whose experiences include both joyful births and heartbreaking outcomes.
Medical care plays an essential role during these experiences, but emotional support can remain important long after a family leaves the hospital.
A parent may have questions about returning to work, talking with other children or navigating future pregnancies. Grandparents and siblings may grieve differently. Even well-intentioned friends sometimes struggle to find words that acknowledge the loss without minimizing it.
Events centered on remembrance help create a community where families do not need to explain why their grief matters.
The October gathering is especially relevant because pregnancy and infant loss have historically been subjects many people felt uncomfortable discussing. Awareness efforts have encouraged greater recognition that parents may need compassion, time and continuing support rather than expectations that they quickly return to normal routines.
For Loma Linda residents, the event also illustrates a broader definition of community healthcare.
Hospitals are often judged by their technology, specialists and medical outcomes. Yet compassionate care also involves recognizing experiences that cannot be resolved through a procedure or prescription.
Sometimes healing begins with a conversation. Sometimes it begins when a parent hears another family describe a familiar experience. And sometimes it begins simply by gathering with people who understand that remembering is itself an act of love.
Loma Linda University Health has announced that families attending the October 18 event should use parking in P1 Structure, Levels 2 and 3, with access from Campus Street. Registration information is available through the university's event calendar.
For those who attend, the afternoon will not erase what happened. No ceremony can do that.
What it can offer is recognition that a child's life matters regardless of its length, and that parents deserve a place where their memories are welcomed.
In a community known throughout the world for healing, A Walk to Remember offers a gentle reminder that not every wound is visible, and not every form of healing means forgetting.
Sometimes the most meaningful thing a community can do is remember together.
Event: Sunday, October 18, 2026, 3:30–5:30 p.m. | Loma Linda University Church. Contact: 951-275-1993.