Flimkien April-2 - Flipbook - Page 11
10
April 2021
The hardest thing to bear was the
emptiness! The emptiness in the house,
the emptiness in my soul. The child that
had been formed deep within the core
of my being, the child I had carried in
my body for nine whole months, the tiny
creature that I had breast-fed, the child
who had barely started to talk, who was
so quiet and undemanding, this beautiful
child of mine was no more. I couldn’t kiss
her, I couldn’t cuddle her, I couldn’t see
her, touch her, hear her, feel her anymore.
She was no longer there, and yet she was.
Everywhere I looked, I saw her. Smells and
sounds, actions and objects brought her
into my life again, brought the pain of her
loss again and again and again over the
years.
30 years have passed since that terrible,
terrible day. And yet she is still alive in me,
still a big part of me, and will be always
with me. The love we shared is a bond that
ties us together forever.
"One of the hardest
tasks we had to do was
to tell our families and
our friends about our
son’s condition"
April 2021
LOUISA GRECH
Monday 4th May 1992
Before the death of my daughter, we had
thought that our family was complete.
After the tragedy and the heartbreak, we
felt empty. We took the decision to have
another child.
On the 4th of May, at 2.30pm, our third
son was born. Then strange things
started happening. More frequent
visits from nurses and doctors, talk of
a specialist! This was my fourth child;
this was not the usual scenario! Then we
were called into the nursery, and we were
told that more tests had to be conducted
on this tiny wee baby. But what for?
What was the reason? Nobody would
talk, nobody gave us any answers.
That evening, two good friends of
ours came to talk to us. They had been
entrusted, or burdened, with passing on
the news! Our son was born with Down
Syndrome. Again, we were shocked to
the core of our being!
One of the hardest tasks we had to do
was to tell our families and our friends
about our son’s condition. Thankfully,
most reactions were positive, however
some believed that he would never
amount to anything!
We worked very hard with him, starting
him on Early Intervention at two weeks.
He has grown into an educated young
man, strong-willed and independent,
loving and caring and I am so thankful
he is in my life.
Then strange
things started
happening. More
frequent visits
from nurses and
doctors, talk of
a specialist! This
was my fourth
child; this was not
the usual scenario!
Then we were
called into the
nursery, and we
were told that
more tests had
to be conducted
on this tiny wee
baby. But what
for? What was the
reason? Nobody
would talk,
nobody gave us
any answers.
11
