This hasn’t been an easy week. A preemie whose story I have been following for a while tragically passed away a few days ago. It was expected and inevitable, so did not come as a shock, but that did not make it any easier.
My heart goes out to his mum and dad and 3 siblings. I cannot even begin to fathom the depth of the grief and pain they must be going through.
Of course stories of neonatal bereavements affect me particularly because my own daughter spent 5 months in neonatal intensive care battling for her life. I can’t help revisiting some of the terror and pain I went through almost every day during that time. But beyond that, it’s the wasted potential that affects me the most. To see such a young life cruelly curtailed before its even begun is surely one of life’s saddest experiences.
Yet these preemies have a lesson to teach all of us. They are often so fragile, so weak and utterly dependent on breathing machines and feeding tubes. But in their hearts they are strong. They fight, they battle, they persevere doggedly, determinedly, often despite all odds. They do everything they can to pull through, to survive, to live.
And especially those who sadly lose their battle are a testament to human resilience in the face of great suffering. If only we could all emulate even half the strength and will power of these tiny preemies the world would surely be a better place.
Life of a Preemie Mum 