steve100100

Not mine, but here's the story.

My co-worker had a son. He was two years old now. I get to work on Monday to be told he won't be at work because his son had passed away on Sunday.

His son was born premature and spent two weeks in NICU.

It's just made me think. My son, who will be 4 in august, was born with pneumonia and spent 12 days in NICU. I was prepared for the worst. Now, he thunders around the house and is in the 95th percentile. A happy healthy little boy.

I'm not religious but there for the grace of god etc.

I'm not sure what the point of this post is but my wife is working away so I am home with my kids by myself.

It puts things in perspective.

lisa67

It certainly makes you think doesn't it?
I volunteer at our local Children's hospital. Seeing what other families go through it makes me feel so blessed to have 2 happy, healthy children.
Some of those same families never fail to inspire me with their resilience, hope and positive outlook on life despite the factnthat their child is so very sick.

steve100100

I can't begin to imagine what they are going through.

Last weekend, we drove down south to see mom and my boy threw up in the car on the way. He doesn't like to travel.

I'm thankful he is there to throw up.

Kaffy Mintcake

A coworker of mine lost her teenaged daughter a couple of years ago in a fire while she was at work. Her daughter was ? slightly developmentally challenged, I believe, but was considered perfectly competent to stay at home on her own. During Spring Break, their home caught on fire and her daughter perished due to smoke inhalation ... they believe that she hid in her room versus getting out of the home.

Another co-worker accidentally backed over her son with her car.

I can't imagine a loss of a child, let alone one which would leave you second guessing the day's events. My heart goes out to your friends.

Duncan Roberts

My son almost died just after he turned one. I had nightmares multiple times every day (are they nightmares) and night for 7 or 8 months after, still do sometimes. It does make you put thongs on perspective.

jackattack

not to make light of a serious topic, but I like this mental image.

randomgirl

That is so so sad

I don't have any kids yet but back in the UK when I worked in the NHS I saw some awful cases involving children. It's so hard to understand how such things can happen to kids but sadly things like this do happen sometimes. It certainly does put things in perspective, that's for sure.

I can't think of anything else to write, there really is nothing anyone can say at a time like this.

Reading fan

Hi - we lost our first child when she was 9 days old - she was born very early and just wasn't strong enough for this world.
Obviously at the time you feel that life is just not worth it but 12 years later we have learnt to accept that for whatever reason her time was cut short. Whilst in special care there were many babies that had been there for a year plus and then passed away - all that hope must be unbearable - you literally live at the hospital while trying to maintain your job/home etc.

My heart goes out to your co-worker - it is not meant to be this way round and having live their lives will seem impossible at the moment.

BILDER

Yes, kids are phenomenally resilient, but when things go bad it is truly devastating.

Thydney

My youngest is a surviving twin his brother died 6 weeks before they were born, my wife carried them both for 6 weeks to give him a better chance of survival. The longest and hardest 6 weeks of our lives. It was made worse by the way the hospital dealt with it and us.
Samuel will be 7 next month and has by and large no serious side effects from his trauma (touch wood) he has asthma but our other bays did to.

It really changes your view of life

Duncan Roberts

That's what I get for typing on my phone!

Englishmum

There is a terrible news report this morning:

Seven children were killed in a farmhouse fire in rural Pennsylvania. (It was a Mennonite family, whom tend to have large families). The mother was milking cows in a nearby barn and was alerted to the fire when her 3 year old came running in to inform her. The father was out delivering milk and having a nap.

The deceased children ranged in age from 7 months to 11 years.

How truly dreadful.


http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-farm...0,647626.story

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/03/09/pennsylvania.fire/

Mummy in the foothills

So sorry for your loss, it's very sad, every parents worst nightmare.
This does, my best friend years ago had the same thing happen, she ended up on bed rest for 5 weeks to cook the surviving twin a bit longer, he was born at 6.5mths and was in ICU then on a monitor at home for a long while, he is now a strapping nearly 17 year old, good at sports and school and doing well. She and her Dh didn't do so well for ages, it's hard, do you celebrate the little baby you have or morn the one you lost (his identical twin) I had no idea so just kept on going round, keeping her company, crying with her and drinking lots of coffee.


Your Co-worker is in my thoughts, little ones who leave us too soon make me cry, no matter who's kids they are.

Brat1

What can I say to this post. Unfortunately, throughout my career, I have had to deal with many deaths like this, some expected, some not, and they are all traumatic and sad events for everyone involved. It has made me treasure each day with my own 3 kids, and my heart goes out to your co-worker and his family. He will need a lot of support over the coming weeks and months and hope that he finds comfort in the knowledge that he is not alone while going through this. My thoughts and prayers are with the family.

ian-mstm

I'm not religous... but I've heard it said that when a parent dies, the child cries; but when a child dies, god cries.

Ian