Fallen soldier's family struggles to tell daughter, 2, that her mother is gone

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-robinson-national-guardmar05,0,7111708.story

Fallen soldier's family struggles to tell daughter, 2, that her mother is gone

Simone Robinson is 8th member of Illinois National Guard killed in Afghanistan in 5 months

By Lolly Bowean and James Janega | Tribune reporters

March 5, 2009

Since Illinois National Guard Spec. Simone Robinson died of her wounds over the weekend, dashing her family's hopes for recovery weeks after a suicide bombing in Afghanistan, relatives have struggled with how to tell the young woman's 2-year-old daughter that her mother is gone.

"She doesn't understand," said Robinson's mother, Regina Byther, who has been telling her granddaughter Nyzia that her mommy is in heaven. "This feels like a dream. Like 'When will I wake up?' I keep praying and asking God to keep me strong."