Heart
Every journey starts in the heart.
Since the work that I am called to do in the world involves greater levels of consciousness and expression, it is important for anyone who works with me to know my personal journey of the heart. My own experiences and walk through life continue to be my greatest teacher!
I have been married for almost 20 years and am “Mom” to two incredible daughters. All of the most intense initiations, ceremonies, and training in Indigenous Healing were mild compared to the journey my youngest daughter Dyllan, took myself, family, and our community through.
At only 3 months of age, Dyllan went into sudden heart failure. She was in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at Stanford Children's Hospital for a very complicated and difficult 9 months, resulting in a heart transplant with major complications.
I lived between the worlds of life and death, heaven and earth, during Dyllan’s first year of life. I had to deeply sink into and rely on my faith, my heart, and my intuition to guide our way on this difficult road before us. I learned to build a bridge between integrative medicine and allopathy. It was imperative that I find the courage to stand alone with a team of doctors and refuse the direction they wanted to go in Dyllan’s care. I had to rely on my intuition and listen to Dyllan.
I saw tremendous daily suffering of parents and children in the CVICU, as well as watching life turn upside down for my oldest daughter who was 3, and did not understand what was happening. Our family and community came together to support Dyllan providing 24 hour bedside care so that she always had someone there to love her.
This story is deep and vast...and one I am continuing to do my best to make good medicine from...
In July of 2015, my husband and I lived through a parent’s worst nightmare and also the most profound blessing -- Dyllan went back home to God. It is still searingly painful to remember her final moments. I cradled my little girl in our home holding her throughout all of the suffering, fear, and hell of seeing death come ever closer. I had to surrender as there was no stopping the train coming at us.
Our entrance and exit from this world are a very sacred time that I tend to with ritual, ceremony, song, herbs etc…. Upon her physical death, I bathed her body, dressed her, brushed her hair, and continued to sing to her. I then watched her sheet-draped body carried out of our home for the last time just after the sun had set...
It was important for me to tend her body and spirit by going to the cremation, sprinkling my little girl with cedar, praying and singing for her peaceful transition. This is how I take care of life. Through a crushing pain in my heart, I pushed her small cardboard box into grandfather fire and shut the door. Myself.
This grieving journey that has no end and continues to drive me deeper into the arms of God/Spirit for solace, guidance, and some level of understanding. It is by far the most potent initiation I have ever been through. Living with a Mother’s Grief has brought a depth, potency, and clarity to my healing work -- in my private sessions, group work, and speaking events -- that I am grateful for.
Despite the pain, I believe in miracles. I never stopped believing in miracles. It was a true miracle that Dyllan got to be with us for 5 years! Her presence is deeply felt in the hearts of all who knew her and is infused in the work I do. I am deeply called to cultivate this sacred heartwork to ease the burdens of those impacted by trauma and loss.
Heartwork is my compass and guide, and life is continuing to teach me...
open me!
Speaking
Dyllan’s spirit and our family's journey is calling to be shared. It is a story of love, despair, transformation...
I stood many days at Dyllan’s bedside holding her little finger while she was unconscious and I did not know if she would make it through another day. I made a promise to myself that somehow, I would make something good out of this. It is important for me to share the remarkable story of my daughter Dyllan’s all-too-brief but transformative presence on this earth in the hopes that communities of all kinds -- medical, caregiving, friends, and family -- will be inspired to consciously choose LOVE, even in the midst of unimaginable grief and loss. As well as the gift of being an advocate and bridge for care.
My daughter Dyllan is a profound teacher, reminding us to be grateful for life each and every day, to love deeply, and, despite the pain, to be happy!
Isn’t that what every single one of us wants? To be grateful, to love, and to be happy?
Compassion. Clarity. Professional Grace. These are the qualities Dayna brings to everything she does
The HeartZipper Story is for hospitals, health care associations, cardiovascular professionals and any caregiving group desiring to improve clarity, communication, and connection in the healing journeys of others.
The HeartZipper Story: A Mother’s Nightmare, a Child’s Spirit, and a Community’s Call to Love
The HeartZipper Story is about more than a sick baby and how she galvanized an entire community with her fiery spirit. It is a tale of sacred resilience --- how each of us can summon previously-untapped strength and wisdom within us to navigate the seemingly insurmountable struggles in our lives. How do we walk through doorways we don’t think we have the strength to walk through? How do we show up for those who need us the most when we barely have enough energy to keep ourselves going? How do we live through our worst nightmares without our souls breaking into a million shards of grief?
In this deeply-moving, heart-centered program, Dayna Wicks shares how she kept going and growing through the health care crisis and transition of her daughter Dyllan and gives specific strategies on how our communities and health care providers can help struggling parents navigate the unthinkable.
The HeartZipper Story will:
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Inspire families in crisis on the power of love and the importance of coming together as a community to support life.
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Advocate for a parent’s input on all matters in all situations of care and how to discuss health care options with sensitivity, compassion, and clarity.
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Discuss the miracle of organ transplant and how it materially impacts countless lives.
Contact me today to discuss your event and how I can bring about improvements in empathy, compassion, and clarity for professional staff and caregivers.
"Don’t ever apologize for the way your child fights back -- the ones who do are the survivors."
