A little later in the evening, after staff doing as much as we could, Baby Greg passed away. He went quietly and quickly. Despite him being so unwell since his surgery, the little one had continued to persevere every day, and it was a shock to all of us when it happened. Greg's mother was deeply distressed as any mother would be.
My heart and the hearts of the nurses here were so very heavy, all of us having been part of his little world as we worked around his bed area. The beeping machines, hum of the oxygen and occasional crys, as well as Greg's mum's laughter, tears and prayers were so much a part of everyday, not one of us could not help but be touched and moved at his death.
We can all question, wonder and plead with God for reasons why this happened and why he had held on for so long just to be carried home to his father in heaven. What I know to be true is that his Mum Marion, virtually a child herself, has had the most phenomenal times of prayer, sharing, and being ministered to whilst being with us. She has an amazing story. Her father for reasons I will not go into had proclaimed over her life that she had disgraced her family and that she would never keep hold of a live baby in her hands. A curse that has been true in her past pregnancies. She has been gripped by fear by this. We know that this curse has been broken despite baby Greg's recent death. As one of her family put it when we carried Marion, Baby Greg home the night he died "some of the babies just have to go back" - to the hands of their father. I can not explain this situation more in my blog, I only know God is bigger than this.
The next day we had a time to share and talk about what happened. It seemed strange for many as they had met in a similar situation only the day of Greg's death and made a plan for the next week to fit a tracheostomy, as a step in the right direction for when the ship leaves at the end of the year, in order to continue his care. Clearly Greg and God had other plans! The meeting was a really important healing time for us all. Our ward supervisor shared with us how at Marion's home the night before, that the family had thanked and thanked us as a team for giving them 'more than the best care'. Each of us hold on to the fact that now Greg is in more than the best place.
Our contact with Marion and her family has continued, in order to continue to support her. Just now Ali shared with me how they have just visited her house. One of our ship crew happened to drove our discipler and Ali to see them. He shared his families testimony of experiencing the exact same 'curse' placed on his mother, and how through God's Grace and Mercy, the curse was destroyed, his birth being the result of it being broken. Being able to be a living testimony of God's work is astounding and can only have encouraged her. God is evidently continuing to work in this family and I don't believe this is the end by any means.
I did not come to this ship realising the extent to which I would be shown new, wonderful, difficult and challenging things. Every day my God gets bigger and more astounding. I am but a tiny small and insignificant part in God's intricate plan, yet I am here, he called me into it. I only hope I remeber these life changing things I am sharing as time passes.
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