The pandemic has left tens of thousands of children in the U.S. without a parent and millions more without a grandparent. The resulting childhood grief can be especially difficult for families to navigate, writes Sarah Gantz for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Nissah Coverdale, an 11-year-old girl from West Chester, learned that her grandfather had passed away in May 2020.

After getting the news, Coverdale was unsure exactly how she should feel. She was very close to her Pop-Pop; she and her siblings saw him several times a week before the pandemic.

After his death, which resulted from a combination of COVID-19 and dementia, she gave in to the urge to isolate.

“I just went into the living room,” said Coverdale. “I just wanted to be alone.”

But gradually, she started looking at old pictures her grandfather had taken.

Paging through them lessened the sharp sting of his sudden exit from her life. She now laughs at the outdated hairstyles and balks at a picture of Pop-Pop building a snowman without wearing gloves.

Coverdale wants other children who’ve lost someone they loved to know they don’t really lose them. They have them in their heart, she said.

Her final bit of advice for helping others deal with the loss of a beloved family member?

“Make sure to take lots of pictures.”

Read more about childhood grief in The Philadelphia Inquirer.