Radio Host Delilah Admits She Struggled With "Rage" After the Death of Her Two Sons
Radio host Delilah has lost two children. Her son Zack died by suicide in October 2017, and Sammy died from complications caused by sickle cell anemia in 2012.
While Delilah is strong in faith, she admits things were difficult after Zack's death. In a new interview on The Dr. Oz Show, the radio personality admits she struggled with anger and "rage."
Author, songwriter, and radio personality Delilah is an open book. After all, the late-night host regularly shares advice—and personal stories—on her nationally syndicated radio program. And now Delilah is speaking out about the pain she felt following the death of her sons.
On Friday, the host admitted she was angry after her 18-year-old son Zack died by suicide.
“I went into a rage when I started doing the research on the medicine I told you that he was given,” Delilah told Dr. Oz on The Dr. Oz Show, according to People. But then “a couple of things happened" which changed everything. Mainly, Delilah met and spoke with Rory Feek.
“There’s a man named Rory Feek who is a country songwriter who lost his wife to cancer,” Delilah explained. “He called me, and he said, ‘Delilah, your boys are much more a part of your future than they are of your past.'”
Delilah was floored and frustrated. "I said, ‘How can you say that? I don’t get to go to their weddings, I don’t get to see their babies, I don’t get to be a grandma, I don’t get to see them graduate, both of them.' And he said, ‘Because you know where they are, and you know you’ll be with them in the future.'” And those words changed everything.
They gave Delilah a new outlook on Zack's death—and life.
Delilah also spoke with Dr. Oz about Zack's final days. “[Zack gave me permission] to call his doctor and I did call. I called twice. I said, ‘My son’s talking about weird space travel and weird time loop continuums. [But] his doctor never returned my call," Delilah said. "He spent Saturday and Sunday at his dad’s house, they had his favorite food, they watched Star Wars.“
“Then, Monday night, he came home from his dad’s house,” she continued. “He spent a few hours in the barn with our cats—we had four kittens—he came in and ate dinner with our family. [He] went up to his room and played video games, and then at 10:30 he came down. I was in Africa and he said to my husband, ‘I’m going to go for a walk.'”
Zack isn't the only child Delilah has lost. In 2012, her son Sammy died from complications from sickle cell anemia. He was 16.
The good news is that faith saved Delilah then and it continues to save her now. "It is my faith that has kept me going through losing two boys, two of my sons," the mother of 14 told Fox. "There is a verse that says, 'Every one of our days is numbered before a single one comes to pass' [and] that one verse has saved my sanity because all of my sons' days were numbered. God knew when they were going to leave this earth before they came to this earth and knowing that changes everything. Because if I didn't believe that, then I would do the what-ifs. What if I had done this differently? What if I had done that differently?"
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, visit SuicidePreventionLifeline.org or text “START” to 741-741 to immediately speak to a trained counselor at Crisis Text Line.
For more stories like this, sign up for our newsletter.
