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SADNESS...it comes with living

His Name, Jonah. He is gone now. His life cut short due to many issues. His parents, profoundly sad that he was taken way too soon. Who did he touched? Way to many people to even count.

I met Jonah through the Trach Board. It is a message board for parents of children that have tracheostomys. Actually just about anyone can join, but there is common bound and that is the trach. I fell in love with Jonah the second I saw him. I wrote to his mom to ask her questions. She was gracious enough to answer them for me.

Jonah had a full life for a medically fragile little boy. He did many things and one of the really big things was he got to go to Disney World. I loved looking at all of his pictures. Each time I checked in on the message board, I looked to see if his mom had posted. I loved reading about his days and what he was up to. He was just a wonderful boy.

I can't even tell you how fast my heart sank into my lap the day I read that he had passed away. It is a post that we get to read on the message boards more often than any of us care to. Medically fragile children, all of a sudden gone for whatever reason. It is like ice cold water being thrown into our face, unsettling the life we have created for ourselves. The life that starts to think that our child will be immune to this sudden death.

As parents on this board, we have said goodbye to too many of the wonderful and precious children. I remember the very first one that I read about. Little Moe. A mere baby. He wore a shirt in his picture that read "Chick Magnet". Let me tell you, he really was. His mom posted for awhile, but then she stopped and we do not hear from her any longer. There have been other children, Mattie, Tommy, Diamond, Kylee, Colton and of course little Jonah. There are many I did not know about, some I have forgotten about, still children gone early. Of course many of you know we too have lost Malachi and Jason.

While I am profoundly sad that these children are gone, I am blessed that we as parents got to be a part of their wonderful lives. While I know that Becca, Rene, Judy and others are hurting from the loss of their dear sweet children, I know in my heart of hearts that they would rather have been these children's parents if only for a short time than not at all.

I remember hurting so badly when Jason passed away. I asked my daddy why would God allow a second child to die and my daddy said, "God lets a lot of people be parents, but He only allows a chosen few to see children to the end of their lives. " Like most other things, My daddy was right. Painful as it is, it is an honor to be a part of a life filled with courage, strength, intestinal fortitude, happiness, faith and joy. These children are fighters and they are success stories from day one.

Good Bye Jonah. You will be missed. But one day we will all meet again. We will all hold our loved ones dear in our hearts and the memories will last us a life time.

I pray that anyone that reads this will hold their loved ones close, for none of us know when that moment will come when we will leave this world. Nor do we know if our children will go before us.

Love to each of you.

Comments

LJR said…
It is so sad about Jonah. It really upset me that day too. We have lost so many recently. Then now Alize and Cerdic both fighting so hard to stay with us.

Sometimes I just have to take a break from the boards, I just can't take it emotionally. I feel helpless. These kids, these perfect little babies taken from their parents. Nothing anyone could do to stop it. I know they are in a good place now, and I should find comfort in that but it just makes me so mad and sad and upset for their parents.

No parent should ever have to feel that kind of sadness. Never.

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