A red-feathered friend has given Angela Dollarhide a comfort like none other.
The cardinal appeared to Dollarhide a week and a half after she buried her 29-year-old daughter, Amanda Howell. The cardinal tilted its head, just the way her daughter did when Dollarhide talked to her.
Howell's way of moving her head to the side was unique, her mother said. So when Dollarhide saw the red bird and it cocked its head, she was intrigued.
Dollarhide has longed believed that a cardinal represents a visitor from heaven. For a grieving mother, the small red bird meant the world. The cardinal stayed with her all day.
"I had cried every day (since we buried her)," she said. "When I saw the cardinal, that was the first day I didn't cry."
Loving Wife, Daughter
Howell was a fighter who had struggled with cancer since she was 16 years old, her mother said. She beat it, but the cancer kept coming back. The family experienced many challenges while teaming with Howell to fight her cancer. Howell was in a coma when she was 17 years old. As her daughter was treated in a Little Rock hospital, Dollarhide slept in her car in the hospital's parking lot. "It was horrible," she said of that time in their lives.
Howell endured about 12 surgeries, trying to beat the cancer. At age 20, she married Joshua Howell, but was unable to have children, Dollarhide said.
The couple made their home in Jane, near the Missouri/Arkansas state line. Her husband was very supportive, Dollarhide said. Howell fought hard to keep the cancer at bay and used humor with family members and friends to fully enjoy life.
"She was amazing. She was a very good Christian," she said. "She was a great daughter, aunt, wife, sister. She loved us, and she was a fighter."
Dollarhide works as a social worker and has counseled many in their grief journeys. The seven-step process, of which she is most familiar, has aided her in her own personal grief journey. She keeps moving forward on behalf of her five other children. Her daughter, Heather, is just 15.
"I stay strong for them," she said. "I'm doing it for Amanda."
Flying High
Howell died on Jan. 24 and was buried on Jan. 29, the day before her 30th birthday. On Feb. 10, the beautiful red bird appeared at Dollarhide's Anderson home. "It turned its head," she said. She snapped a photo and reflected that the visitor brought her much peace.
She shared the photo of the cardinal with its head tilted, as well as a photo of her daughter, on social media. More than 1,000 people commented on the post, which was shared 15,000 times, she said.
Dollarhide has heard from other people across the country who have lost family members and witnessed visiting cardinals. The feathered friends have offered comfort and the hope that it's a sign from above.
Dollarhide hopes others will find comfort in the fact that the grief journey "does get better." She also knows that the little red visitor who flew in allowed her to be at peace.
For a grieving mother, the cardinal -- which struck a familiar pose -- helped ease the burden of burying a child.
"I have no doubt that was a sign from Amanda," she said.
