The Edge of Life

There was an absolutely beautifully written, heart-wrenching article on p38 of The Age's (Melbourne) Magazine today about babies born on 'the edge of life', like Max was. The article is about babies born at 23 and 24 weeks in the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) at the Mercy Hospital for Women in Heidelberg, right near my house. I could not even get through the first paragraph without the arrival of violent tears.

I didn't know who the journalist, Kathy Evans, was, but I thought she should be commended for capturing both the vulnerability and strength shown by those families in such an honest, compelling way. When I googled her, however, I discovered just why her article was so arrestingly written - she gave birth to a baby with Downs Syndrome. She gets it - the uncertainty, the pain, the grieving for the life, and the baby, that should have been yours.

Evans wrote an incredible article about her daughter, called Tuesday's Child, for which she deservedly one a couple of awards. You can read it here, and you should. I have never read anything so moving.

I cannot find an electronic copy of today's article to link to, so these images will have to suffice to give you an idea of its content. If you can get a hold of today's magazine in The Age, I really encourage you to do so - spend the time it takes to read 2000 words in those families' shoes, and count your own blessings, as I do, realising how thankful I am, despite everything, that Max did not have to suffer the pain and distress of months of invasive care in NICU or face a life of profound disability.