Author: Oana

When a baby dies

When a baby dies, a part of the world dies with him. Cause a baby is not an isolated incident or an accident of the universe. A baby carries within him the promise of the future. Of future generations. Of callings fulfilled. Of blessings in the making. So when a baby dies, a part of the world dies with him… When a baby dies, a part of his mother’s heart dies with him. I couldn’t locate it physically, that part, but I can tell you it is the part responsible with belly laughter. And naïveté. And careless enjoyment of a simple moment. When a baby dies, a part of his mother’s heart dies with him. And for a while, for a long while, there is only sadness covering her life, like dew covers grass in the morning. And the naïveté is gone. All gone. Never to return. It left when her baby was given no chance to live by the doctors. When she watched him disappear, day after day, behind a curtain of pain and …

What is grief?

“Grief is the internal part of loss, how we feel. The internal work of grief is a process, a journey. It does not end on a certain day or date. It is as individual as each of us. Grief is real because loss is real. Each grief has its own imprint, as distinctive and as unique as the person we lost. The pain of loss is so intense, so heartbreaking, because in loving we deeply connect with another human being, and grief is the reflection of the connection that has been lost.” For me, grief is a sneaky pain that hits me like an arrow, straight in the heart, when I least expect it. Grief is this sadness that has descended over me like a thick blanket as soon as my baby took his last breath. Grief is waking up happy in the morning only to be cruely reminded by my first thought that my baby is no longer with me. Grief is duality: feeling happy for my friends who have had a baby boy …

To the enemy of our souls

So you thought you won. Deceived yourself again, just like with Jesus’ death. You thought this was the end. You thought that by asking for my baby’s life you have conquered. But once again, you were wrong. Yes, we miss our baby and we are devastated. Devastated he can’t enjoy the beauty of this world. Devastated he didn’t get to meet people we love. He didn’t get a chance to show them his quirky and beautiful personality. We miss his presence. We miss touching him, we miss holding him, we miss smelling him, tickling him, cuddling him. Feeding him. Playing with him. Laughing with him. We feel incomplete. We feel a profound sadness that covers everything we do in a layer of grey, like thick and choking dust. We feel lost. We feel desolate. But I also feel God’s presence and favour in these dark days. I almost heard Him whispering today: “Anything. Anything you want, ask from my hand. I will give you.” And just like Solomon, I will not ask for gold, nor …

Dear Georgie: Bye bye my sweet boy!

Today you will leave us for good, baby boy. For three days we fooled ourselves into believing you were still here with us because your beautiful body was still in our midst. We were able to hold hands, pat your cheek and kiss your forehead. We were able to give you cuddles and wash you with our tears. But today, oh baby, today, your body will leave us too. Your sister is angry with you again. She understands very well the finality that today will bring and doesn’t want to accept it. She didn’t want to say goodbye. She didn’t want to kiss your cheek. She is mad with you, for leaving her, sweetheart. She loved you sooo much, as you know. She didn’t get to spend the time she deserved with you. You were stuck in a hospital room for two months, away from her. She had to steal glances through the door and kisses when no one was looking. The days in the hospice were wonderful for her. The first thing she said …

Death, where is your sting?

  Our precious boy is gone. Gone home to be with his Heavenly Daddy. We will miss him every moment of every day. We won’t be complete without him. At the table. On holidays. While Tesco shopping. On school runs. In the quietness of the night. In the busyness of the day. He will be the piece forever missing from our hearts. We are relieved he is no longer in pain. These last couple of weeks we witnessed what no parent should ever witness. The slow disappearance of our bright and happy boy behind a veil of pain and morphine-induced, heavy dreams. The light slowly extinguishing from a baby who LOVED life. The burial of our dreams and hopes for a future which should have included him. Mourning the loss of “how it could have been.” People wrote to me expressing their anger. At the unfairness of the situation. At life. At God. But just like I explained in simple words to Emma, I will try and help you understand our view on things. Emma …