Goodbye, Baby

Today

A very sad time for my personal trainer, whose little boy died this week. He developed a brain tumour about 8 months ago and his parents have gone through the hell of invasive treatments, the flaring up and dying down of hope.

He was only 2 and can hardly have understood what was happening to him. Why he had to be separated from his parents in an alien environment, why he'd lost his so newly acquired skills of walking and talking, why he hurt so much.

While his parents must know that they did all they could for him, they must also wonder about whether the suffering caused by the treatments was worth the eventual outcome.

In My Day

We felt somewhat similarly when my nephew's baby died, after just 3 days of premature life, a few years ago. Her parents went through the treatment hell of IVF to have her and her grip on life was just too weak for her to last.

We can never know what pain or anguish she suffered and cannot really judge whether, for her, it would have been better not to have invaded her tiny body with tubes and attachments, so that our image of her (and indeed, the only photo we have) is of an isolated scrap, effectively tied into a cot. And so that she could let go with baby dignity.

To lose a child, and so young, must bring the worst of all pain and my heart goes out to them and all who've suffered likewise.