Brennan

Besides Mom passing away and me not getting to coach my volleyball team, Jamie’s baby was delivered ten weeks early and died.  She went to the hospital, and they tried to stop her contractions.  She was sent to a hospital in Savannah because they could not stop the contractions, and if she had the baby early, this hospital had a great neonatal facility.  After they did an extensive ultrasound on the baby, the doctors noticed a large mass that filled up his whole lung.  They gave the baby about a five percent chance to live.  The doctor’s said if she did not deliver the baby the baby would die inside of her.  They decided for Jamie to have a c-section the next day.

I did not want Jamie to worry about calling the funeral home and all the details if he passed away, so I called and got all the information she needed to know.  Brennan was born the next day and weighed four pounds five ounces.  The doctors tried to incubate him, but they were not successful.  He never took a breath, but his heart beat for a few hours.  Everyone that was there was able to hold him.  Christopher Brennan Wiles went to be with the Lord, June 17^th, 2004, the same day he was born.  I thought about Mom being there to greet him in Heaven.  She probably did not share him very much when he first got there.

U  If you have a son or daughter with a terminal illness, have you talked to them about Jesus, and do they know Him as their personal Lord and Savior?  U

U  Have you talked with them about Heaven and for them not to be afraid?  U

 

I called my grandparents to let them know.  I called Grandma Freddie and Granddad (Dad’s father), Grandmother, and Nana.

I did not get to see Brennan but was heading down to St. Simons the next day anyway because it was my twenty year high school reunion.  On the way to St. Simons, Paul and I stopped in Savannah and visited with Jamie and Chris in the hospital.  Jamie was sitting there in Mom’s nightgown.  She had all the scars of having a baby because she had a c-section, but there was not a baby to cuddle.  She got teary eyed when I walked in as each person that walked in would remind her of why they were there.  I brought with me two baby blankets of Ashton’s because Brennan would be wrapped in a blanket when he was buried.  I told her she could use one of them if she wanted to, and she would not hurt my feelings if she did not want to use it.

 

I asked her if she minded if I see him at the funeral home, and she said that was okay. They decided to bury Brennan at the feet of Mom’s grave.  The funeral would be Tuesday.

Sunday night I called Grandmother and told her I was going the next morning to see Brennan at the funeral home.  I asked her if she wanted to go.  She needed to think about it and when I called her back later, she decided to go.  I met her at the funeral home, and we went into the room to see Brennan.  He was lying in an eighteen inch coffin, and he had a cute white outfit on with a white hat on his head.  Tucked under his arm was a stuffed animal one of Jamie’s friends got for him.  He was precious.  Jamie had decided on a beautiful, white blanket to have him wrapped in.

U  Can you offer to give a special stuffed animal or blanket?  U

I looked at him just like I did Mom and knew he was in Heaven with her.  I took a few pictures because I did not know if Jamie would want them.  I cried and before I left, I kissed him goodbye and told him I would see him in Heaven one day and to wait for me.

The funeral was Tuesday and was difficult especially after just having to bury Mom in March.  The funeral was to start at 10:00 a.m. and nearly twenty-five minutes later, Grandmother was still not there.  We started the funeral without her.  At the end of the funeral, Uncle Johnny pulled up with Grandmother in the car.  She was distraught because she had missed the funeral.  They got lost.  I tried to get her to calm down and told her at least she got there.  She was thanking me for asking her to go to the funeral home to see Brennan since she did not make the funeral.  She asked if anyone filmed the funeral, and I told her no.  When I asked Jamie if she wanted me to tape the funeral, she shook her head no.

I ended up staying the whole week instead of staying for just the weekend.  I went over to Jamie’s house and helped her around the house.  I gave her house a good spring cleaning.

U  Are there things as simple as housework you can do for someone?  U

Dad was planning on going on a mission trip to Panama.  He decided not to go because he would have missed the funeral.  He made a comment to one of my sisters about dealing with this kind of stuff was for Momma.  There will be plenty more times he will have to take Mom’s place.