For this, you need 'Our Tune' playing in your head and the voice of Simon Bates reading...
I’ve already written about my late mum. This is a related tale.

Now, at 37, I am the oldest of three. However, that wasn’t always the case. Before I was born, my mum and dad had a daughter, Lisa. My older sister, who I never knew.

Lisa died the year before I was born. In the days before health and safety was a national obsession, people didn’t really think very much about consequences. Lisa, at 18 months old, had somehow (no one is sure to this day) managed to climb up and reach the medicine cabinet, and proceeded to devour a lot of pills – brightly coloured, she obviously thought they were sweets. As soon as anyone realised what had happened, Lisa was rushed to hospital, but it was too late and she died of a massive overdose. So my parents had to witness their dead, 18 month old daughter, lying still and cold in hospital, with the knowledge that it could have been prevented with a bit of foresight.

I never really heard them talk about it in all the years I was growing up. Apart from my dad once, opened up and recalled the total anguish they were both going through at the time. The story made the local papers. There was an inquest that dragged on for months, during which they were both under suspicion of having a direct contribution to her death. They couldn’t even bury her straight away, so the funeral was delayed for weeks.

I grew up knowing that I had an older sister who had died, and sometimes wonder what it would have been like had she lived. My nana often talked about her, and still kept a photo of her on her dresser – she adored her. When my nana took ill, and ended up in hospital, my sister was pregnant with her second child – my nephew, and Godson. She was 2 weeks overdue, and so eventually had to induced. The day Kyle was born, I went into the hospital to tell nana the news – she was unconscious by this point, but there was a flicker of acknowledgement. 4am the next day I got a call – she had passed away during the night, obviously hanging on until she knew that Kyle was born and everything was OK.

Kyle was born on February 4th. He shares his birthday with Lisa...
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Fri 29 Feb 2008, 11:46, 2 replies)

That's really sad
On a happier note I'm so glad that your nan hung on for the birth. My neice's birthday shares the day my nan died and although it's always sad we look at grace and know that something beautiful came from that horrible day.

Hugs
( Mrswoodbine finally has her own account., Fri 29 Feb 2008, 11:54, closed)

...
took your advice and played "our tune" (Romeo and juliet from zeffirelli's film). Very sad, my next door neighbour had a twin that was still born, while he survived, he says pretty much the same as you, he just wonders what it would have been like to have them around.....take it easy.
(Smellyape liking http://www.b3ta.com/bpma/, Fri 29 Feb 2008, 15:55, closed)