Noa Joy

I have a friend who works in marine insurance. Given it can take up to twenty minutes for a laden supertanker to come to a halt, collisions involving these leviathans are often telegraphed well in advance. So much so that my friend tells me that they have received calls from captains of their insured vessels saying that they are going to be involved in an accident in the next five minutes and ‘did they want to watch it in real time?’ The sense of helplessness in the face of the inevitable is palpable.

Four days ago our fourth grandchild, Noa, died.

She lived for 87 days – so short a time yet she made an indelible impression on all who met her. She had a rare genetic disorder which meant that she would not be able to survive apart from invasive life-support. The lack of hope for an alternative outcome was heart-breaking for all concerned and most of all for her parents whose love for their daughter moved and inspired all who witnessed it.

Noa was beautiful with a peaceful spirit. She was rarely fully awake although she did seem to enjoy a bath, which gave her parents a chance to experiment with different ways of styling her luxuriant hair; all of which was to no avail as her hair was untameable!

Knowing that she had no viable future her parents took the brave step of moving her to a hospice where she spent the last two days of her life experiencing, for the first time, the feel of the wind on her face and the smells of autumn, free at last from the sterile environment of the neonatal intensive care unit. She died peacefully in her parents arms. She was loved to the last.

There are no words to adequately express the loss, but as Christians we believe this is not the end of the story. The fact is we still have four grandchildren; its just that one of them doesn’t live with us anymore. Instead she is making her presence felt in heaven where one day we will be reunited.

Rest in peace gorgeous girl.