CNN National Correspondent René Marsh spoke about the blessing of welcoming her daughter after the tragic death of her son.
In an exclusive interview with People, Marsh, 43, talked about the joys of becoming a mother again to daughter, Siena, following the death of her son, Blake, 2, who died from pediatric brain cancer in 2021.
“It’s been great to just have this role of mother in the physical sense, in the present sense, again, to this little person. We are just so happy and grateful that we have this new life in our house again, and we have sounds in our house again of this young child,” Marsh said of her and husband, Kedric Payne.
She detailed what it was like having to accept her new reality without her son.
“The silence of a home that had a 2-year-old and then to come home to that child no longer being here, that the silence was was (sic) really striking. So we wanted to have that sense of family again,” she shared.
Thank you @TODAYshow @kwelkernbc for telling Blake’s story and highlighting the critical funding and effective treatments still needed for pediatric cancer 🎗#cancelchildhoodcancer https://t.co/5uZXCcuf9a
— Rene Marsh (@Rene_MarshCNN) July 9, 2022
She also spoke about how being pregnant with her daughter helped her cope with the loss of her son.
“It was a constant tug and pull with joy and pain and hope and heartbreak,” Marsh said. “While grieving the loss of my son daily during my pregnancy, I waited in great anticipation for the birth of my daughter. Through the tears, her gentle and sometimes not so gentle kicks in the womb reminded me more was on the horizon. I will tell her one day how her kicks gave me hope at a time of great heartbreak.”
Marsh added she “felt happy to be able to have this chance again to be a mom again.”
“And it was finally happening for us, the fact that I was pregnant again gave me hope. It gave me something to look forward to that was positive. This pregnancy really renewed my spirit of hope,” she continued.
Marsh emphasized the importance of giving yourself grace during the grieving process.
“It’s important to take a self-assessment of what you have been able to endure so far, even if you’re still enduring it, and give yourself a pat on the back, that reflection is important,” she said.