My son, Conor William Henry Shortt, passed away on Thursday, July 14th, while his mother and I held him. He fought to stay with us, living a total of 3 days, 8 hours and 38 minutes. He was born without functioning kidneys and, as a result of the low amniotic fluid levels that causes, underdeveloped lungs. He was never going to be able to survive without life support, and even that would only keep him alive for so long. We spent the entire day on Thursday holding him, before making the decision to remove the ventilator at 5pm. He kept on fighting, trying to breathe, for a whole hour, before passing peacefully.
I've never seen a newborn like him. He would squeeze our fingers, even try to get a better grip. He wouldn't let us go, and his grip was so strong. Conor knew us. He would only open his eyes when we held him. His body would fight to breathe better when we were there. He has been with us since he was conceived, and will continue to be with us, always.
In the last nine months, Conor has done so much. He has shown my wife and I how strong we are, together. That we can overcome anything through our love. He has brought our families closer together and reminded us how dear to us our friends are, and how much they will do for us at a moment's notice. Conor has been loved by people from all over the world. Even in death, he will continue to be with us and do great things. We agreed to a post mortem. Hopefully this can add to the understanding of what happened to Conor once the doctors confirm what exactly it was that caused this.
We know so much about him. He would give Jen the mightiest of kicks, elbows, even scratches with his fingers, to let her know how he was feeling. We know he liked Bon Jovi and Def Leppard. He enjoyed Thor and Transformers. He loved spicy food.
I could not be more proud of our brave little boy, or more thankful that he chose my wife and I to be his parents. We will always remember that he came to us and made our lives better. He lived and was loved. We will keep him with us, always, and make sure his future siblings know that they have a strong big brother looking out for them.
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| Conor William Henry Shortt : 11/07/11 - 14/07/11 |