Sunday, October 29, 2017

Life long after loss – thankful to remember

THREE years ago today we heard Nathanael’s heart beat the final time. It’s so fitting that we’re surrounded by PKS families this weekend.  
We’re just so thankful to keep Nathanael’s memory alive. Our shining gift of God has put us in touch with this small national and international community touched in the same way. Our experience is not entirely the same, yet we’re embraced. Yet, even as I write that, we’re connected with many who have experienced similar things, if not the same. Each time we look at one of the children — a three-year-old born soon after Nathanael was — we gain a glimpse of who he might have been. That happens a lot with three-year-olds, at the present time, which is symptomatic of what we all might feel after loss. These are comparisons we need to accept do occur; we can turn them into thankful remembrances of those we’ve lost.
We will never be the same as we were, and who knows what else is coming. Yet, we know that we’re surrounded by those who life has taught to love well.
I’ve had the sense that as Nathanael passed to be with God he left something to a few of his special ones; some sort of legacy. It’s an intangible gift. Part of that gift for us is connection with the PKS community.
The present is a gift, but one we never expected to thank God for. The present keeps us connected to Nathanael. And the present is poignant, being with those we met when Nathanael was thriving in his mother’s womb, on the anniversary of his birth and death.
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The image above speaks of comfort experienced at a time of pain. Besides the negative and traumatic things we experienced when Nathanael was born, we appreciate the love we experienced being cared for by the King Edward Memorial Hospital staff. Particularly the Gold Team.
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**PKS stands for Pallister-Killian Syndrome. “PKS is a rare chromosomal disorder in which there are 2 extra copies of the short (p) arm of chromosome 12. PKS Foundation of Australia is a not for profit organisation aimed at generating awareness about the disorder within the general community and medical professionals; supporting kids and families of those affected by PKS achieve a better quality of life, through therapy and equipment support and generating sufficient resources to fund research into many of unknown facets of this disorder.” For more information, visit: http://www.pks.org.au/pks-fun-run/

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