Healing through Grant’s Garden
Shovels hit the ground Saturday and a garden began to take shape as volunteers worked amidst rain sleet and hail, all in the name of Grant Carpenter, who lost his life unexpectedly in February, shortly before his fourth birthday.
The new garden at the Maintaining Active Citizen’s, or MAC, center, appropriately named “Grant’s Garden.”
“It’s a great loss for us, but just having everybody come together really just helped so much,” said Christine Carpenter, Grant’s mother, and the director of Peninsula Regional Medical Center’s Weight Loss and Wellness Center.
The center is slated to open in late June. The weight loss program will be in partnership with the MAC Center. Carpenter said she hopes her patients will able to use the garden to help them through tough times, similar to the way it’s helped her cope with Grant’s passing.
“It just really promotes healing, in so many different ways,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter said the garden was already planned, but when the MAC center approached her with the idea of naming the garden after her son, a message from Grant let her know it was the right move to make.
“Just little signs from Grant, knowing that he’s here with me. Grant avenue is right across the street and it’s just, there’s just been little things a long the way that have kind of let me know this is the right thing to do,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter said the garden will have some of Grant’s favorite things, hints of Thomas the Tank Engine blue, and things associated with cats, such as aromatic herb catmint.
Carpenters friends said at the event, that people who may be struggling with a traumatic life event can learn from what the family is doing.
“Just keep Grant in your heart and when you’re having a bad day just think that this family embraced such a tragic thing and you know you can make something terrible into something so special,” said Lorie Crisanti, a family friend.
Carpetner said a portion of the garden will be used to grow organic vegetables that her patients can then take to the test kitchen and use to make healthy food with.
