Encouragement for parents who have lost a child.

Now for those who have lost children. I know it’s the hardest time in any parents life. I myself have lost a child. I was 16 when I had my first baby. I ended up back with my biological family,I was adopted. My daughter was taken away and given to my adopted mom temporarily and dss set up visitation so I could see her. I went to see her one day only to find out my adopted mom moved out of state without me knowing. I searched for my daughter for 3 years and I finally found her. I talked to her on the phone and she asked me when was I coming to get her, my adopted mom took the phone from her and said that we needed to end the conversation before we make her cry. LITTLE did I know that would be the last time I would ever talk to my daughter . Well my adopted mom allowed my daughter to go to a church convention with a lady from her church . They were on the way back and the lady fell asleep under the wheel she didn’t have my daughter in her carseat,my baby went through the back windshield hit some trees and the embankment and hit the ground. They had to life flight her. I can’t even begin to fathom what was going through my babies mind as this was happening. I didn’t find out about the accident until a couple of days later,my husband and I drove to Richmond Virginia which Is where the accident happened, we were speeding ,of course we got pulled over, we told the officer what was going on and he escorted us to the hospital. I got there and the first thing my adopted mom said to me was don’t start any trouble it was about my daughter of course I wasn’t going to start any trouble I wanted to see my daughter, I went to see her they had to remove a part of her skull to try to help bring the swelling down and get some of the fluid off her brain. I got to the room where she was the level of fluid was high I leaned over and began to talk to her and her fluid dropped, I knew then that she was holding on until I got there,I stayed at the Ronald McDonald house in Virginia, I went to see her every day that I was.there,the accident happened July of 2002 my daughter had just turned 4 years old. Well when I got there the lady and her son weren’t at the hospital they got checked out and she went to file an insurance claim ,well the accident happened on a Tuesday by Friday the Dr’s gathered and took us into a room they said they had did all they could and that more of her brain had turned to mush,they told me that if I took her home she would be a vegetable she would have a feeding tube in her stomach she would’ve had to have a respirator to breathe and I would have to turn and that she would probably never open her eyes again. This was the hardest decision of my life I had to make the decision of taking her home like that or let her go in peace. Nobody knew how much pain she was feeling or was in. I made the decision to take her off the respirator the Dr told me that when we take her off the respirator.and she start breathing on her own then I will know that she’s going to live but if not her heart will beat about 2 times and she will pass away,I held my daughter in my arms while they were unhooking her and she didn’t start breathing on her own. I took the stethoscope and put it in my ears I heard my baby heart beat for the last time. My little girl died in my arms. I know I felt like my baby was all alone when being let down into that cold dark grave. I know I made the best decision for her.it was very hard for me,but I didn’t want to see my baby suffer like that,God was my strength through all of this. I washed my baby up myself before they took her to the morgue. I’m telling my story in hopes that it will reach everyone that it can. If God brought me through it he can do the same for you. You are never alone God will always be with you if you allow him too.

Story shared by...

Dorothea Whaley