Luke

An angel in the book of life
wrote down our baby's birth
and whispered as he closed the book
too beautiful for this earth

July 15th 2005 should have been one of the happiest
days of our lives. Instead it was a time of deep sorrow.

My husband and I drove Mandy my daughter and her husband into the hospital
to have her induced as she was 41 weeks.

We never expected to hear the devasting news that her son, my grandchild
had died in her womb probably only that morning.

I will never forget the look on her face as the tears of disbelief fell.
We were all crying and then we left to leave them to grieve together
The next day Saturday, we were told that she would be induced and that
labour might not start for a few hours.
At 6.00pm her waters broke on their own and so began her 10 hour labour
I was with her the whole time and I saw her face transformed from a child
into a woman.

She was given morphine, an epidural and a drip. Only she knew when she
was having a contraction as her stomach was hard.

Finally at 4.50am her son was born still. I saw him being born and
that sight is forever printed in my mind.
He was 7lb, 19.9 inches long and had dark hair. His fingers and toes
were all perfect. He had long legs and long fingers.
Mandy & Damien weren't sure whether they wanted to hold him or not so
I suggested to them that I go and see him to see if they could handle it
or not. I decided they could even though he was a little bruised and we
were told that he had probably died the day before.

We were able to take pics of him and those moments were so precious.
He was bathed and dressed in the clothes Mandy chose.

I have asked myself a thousand times why? Why let Mandy go full term
every test come back normal, the baby growing and kicking normally
for nine whole months? I will never know the answer to this.

It is now 3 weeks today since it happened and Mandy and Damien have
grown stronger together. They now have little Luke's ashes in a
darling little ceramic urn with a teddy on it.
I believe in time they will have another child but we will never
ever forget Luke James.

We talk about him every day and his memory will live on.

We had the funeral a week after he was born. There was the little
white coffin on a table draped in white lace. There were two deep
red roses in gysophla symbolising Mandy & Damien.
We had the hospital chaplin and he was wonderful. We chose him as
he was the one who baptised Luke.
I said a few words and they played the song One Day At A Time and
at the end as we placed pink and white camelias on the coffin the
song You'll Never Walk Alone was playing in the background.

You never expect to bury your child which I have done or your
grandchild but the one thing that has helped me through all this
is my continuing faith in God that He is with me. I could not
have gone on without Him.
I do believe everything happens for a reason of that we don't know
while here on Earth but one day we will.
We were blessed to be able to see you and hold you for a short while.
Goodbye for now Luke we will see you when we ourselves return to Heaven

A GRANDMA'S PERFECT LOVE

Are you growing up in heaven?
Do you laugh and play and run?
Is it like a perfect playground?
Are you having lots of fun?

Do you know we love you dearly,
And miss you so each day?
Will we ever know the reason
Why you didn't get to stay?

I was thrilled to be your grandma;
I had a grandma plan.
I saw your life before you,
As only grandmas can.

I'd have spoiled you, little sweetie,
But in a way that's good.
You'd know a grandma's perfect love,
Like every baby should.

We only had a tiny cup
Of time to spend with you.
We fell in love with all our hearts,
And know you loved us, too.

So save a swing for grandma
On that playground up above.
I'm saving something special, too -
A grandmas perfect love.

Author Unknown

If anyone knows the author of this poem please
contact me so that I may give credit where
credit is due Thanks

A special gift from my great friend Jean

You Will Never Walk Alone
Written by Rogers and Hammerstein

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone