Gary Weidenhamer knows what it's like to lose a child to an alligator. His 10-year-old son was snatched and killed in a similar manner to 2-year-old Lane Graves in Florida this week. And while the pain never completely disappears, Gary says it was God, family and friends who helped his family pull through the tragedy.
Lane was wading in shallow water close to a Walt Disney World resort hotel in Orlando on Tuesday night when an alligator grabbed him and pulled him into the water.
His father made a desperate attempt to save him but he was unable to free Lane from the alligator and his body was found intact in the water on Wednesday, close to where he had been snatched.
According to CNN, a priest accompanied the authorities when they broke the news of the discovery to his Catholic parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, who were on vacation from Nebraska.
Among those expressing their sympathy for the Graves family are Donna and Gary Weidenhamer who know all too well what they are going through.
Gary Weidenhamer told CNN the death of Lane had brought back memories of the "horrible situation" he and his wife experienced when their 10-year-old son Bradley was killed by an alligator, also in Florida, on June 20, 1993.
The family were making a canoe trip down the Loxahatchee River in Martin County with other children from his Little League team when he was snatched and dragged into the river. After tackling the alligator, they were able to pry Bradley from its jaws but, tragically, he died as a result of massive head injuries.
"Losing a child is never easy, but when it's such a public way, it's even harder," Gary told CNN.
Gary and his wife spoke of how their faith helped them to deal with the pain of their loss and re-evaluate the things they valued in life.
"For us, faith in God and our church and friends and relatives helped us get through that," he said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. You don't get over it. You learn how to deal with it."
Donna added: "It makes you realise how important your family is. It puts it in perspective. How important it is to share your faith with people so they can be strong through challenging things in life."
