Saanich, B.C., teen heals from loss by helping others
As Olivia Hahn looks back at pictures from after her mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she recalls their countless conversations about owls.
“She said, ‘I’ll be coming back as an owl. Just know I’ll be watching you,’” Olivia recalls with a smile. “I was like, ‘OK. That’s really cute.'”
But Olivia didn’t really get it at the time.
When we first met her last year, Olivia said she couldn’t have imagined that there would be a day when she’d leave the hospital and tell her mom, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ but arrive the next day to find she never got a chance to say goodbye.
Olivia was 15 when her mom died. She spent the next few months feeling lost and alone.
“It made me feel like I was different or I was weird,” Olivia says.
Her dad John says Olivia also felt frustrated that they couldn’t find any books about expressing grief from a teenager’s perspective.
“If we can’t find you a book,” John recalls saying. “I guess you’re going to have to write one.”
While John admits he was being flippant, Olivia — despite never really writing before — did just that.
“I wanted to write something that would help me through it,” Olivia says of her book. “But also help other people as well.”
A year later, she published ‘Healing Our Wounded Hearts,’ with proceeds supporting palliative care, and the goal of empowering others to begin their own healing process.
“And to let them know it’s OK to not be OK,” Olivia adds.
Since then, Olivia’s published another book, a collection of poetry about loss titled ‘To Hold Your Hand One More Time.'
She’s also modelled in fundraising fashion shows to support the BC Cancer Agency, and volunteers as the youth ambassador for Learning Through Loss, which offers programs to support grieving teenagers and young adults.
“[Youth] feel so alone in their grief,” says Kathryn Dafos, executive director of ‘Learning Through Loss.’ “Olivia reaches out her hand says, ‘You’re not alone.’”
And through helping, Olivia says she’s finding healing.
“It makes me feel better to help others,” she smiles.
But nothing compares to those moments — and there have been many Olivia says — when she hears a ‘hoot’ and spots an owl.
“It’s so reassuring,” Olivia smiles. “It‘s like I know my mom is there.”
It feels like her mom’s always watching over her with pride — that her little girl is growing up to be such a strong and caring young woman.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.