My name is Andrea Davis and I am a Grief Recovery Specialist Certified through the Grief Recovery Institute. I am local to the greater Nashville, TN area, specifically Franklin, TN. I offer an 8-week in-person group session as well as one-on-one sessions if you prefer a more personal setting. In addition, I offer ONLINE one-on-one and Group sessions.
My grief recovery journey began in 2007 when my husband Dave was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy (end stage renal failure) at the age of 37, where he would someday need a kidney transplant, or spend the rest of his life on dialysis. This was just the beginning of our loss journey. He was placed on the national organ transplant list with an 8-year waiting period. A year after his diagnosis, I donated my kidney to Dave only for it to be rejected - another major loss. We would ultimately find out after the rejection that he was no longer eligible to be on the transplant list and would live out his life on dialysis – yet another loss for our family. During the next 12 years we suffered through over 50 hospital visits, surgeries, loss of income, and broken hearts all around. But the losses continued into 2019 when I lost my mother, only 8 months before losing Dave my husband due to various complications of his kidney disease.
I thought I had done well managing/hiding the pain of these losses, but I was wrong. I realized that it wasn’t going away, and I really needed to focus on my own personal recovery. When I discovered the Grief Recovery Method (GRM) program, I was provided the tools to navigate the seemingly endless grief waves. I realized if I was ever going to let go of the pain, I had to learn to let go, move on from it and ultimately find my new passion in life. After Dave passed away, and then completing the GRM program, I finally found my calling, my purpose - to serve others and to help them with their grief, in honor of Dave. The tools I gained are invaluable and the action-based program was exactly what I needed.
It gives me a sense of purpose, pride, and identity to give back to my community. Some of my volunteer work includes becoming a Donate Life Ambassador in 2007, bringing awareness to the public about the need for organ, eye, and tissue donation, volunteering for my local non-profit Project Linus making blankets for ill and displaced children in my community. I have raised thousands of dollars for the annual Donate Life Walk/run and annual DaVita Kat Walk, and I spent 2007-2010 volunteering on the annual Donate Life Rose Parade Float. I am a 2011 recipient of the Orange County, CA Spirit of Volunteerism Award, and lastly, I was presented the 2009 Gift of Life Medal of Honor by the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services in recognition of my kidney donation to my husband in 2008. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix, graduating Cum Laude.
This is my story, and I would really love to hear yours. Please reach out for your FREE 15-minute discovery call.
-Andrea