Eli and my Mother
Let me begin by thanking everyone for the many wishes of congratulations, condolences and offers of help. As most of you are aware Melissa and I have a wonderful new addition to our family. Elijah Benjamin Feldman, AKA Eli, AKA The Grasshopper, was born on February 5, 2009. He was 6 lbs 7 oz, happy and healthy. Unfortunately our wonderful news was tempered by the loss of my Mother. My parents had been on a long planned vacation to Puerto Rico. They were scheduled to return prior to Melissa and Eli being released from the hospital. The night Eli was born my mother was playing blackjack and according to our cousins who were vacationing with my parents, repeatedly looking at the the photo of Eli I had emailed them. She was having the time of her life when she had a massive aneurysm at the tables and was officially pronounced brain dead and removed from life support about 36 hours later. My mother was a huge part of our lives and I do not have the words to describe the combination of one of my highest highs with my lowest low. I am still trying to figure out how to embrace the joys of having a newborn and grieve for my mother but if there is one lesson she taught me it is you put your children first. So for now that is all I can do.
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Corey, My heart goes out to you and your family. I’m am so saddened to read this news.
I am so incredibly sorry for your loss.
I am so sorry for your loss. It must be so difficult to experience such joy and sorrow at the same time.
Oh, Corey. Blessings to you and Melissa. Eli will be the light and joy that you need in your lives, right now.
Oh Corey I am so, so sorry. You are the second person I heard of today who lost their mother suddenly to an aneurysm. I am so sorry. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask.
Thank you all
[...] My mother passed away suddenly about 14 months ago, and there hasn’t been a day since that I haven’t thought of her. She left a huge hole in our lives that will never be filled. But as with everything else in life, you adjust. We made it through the first set of birthdays and holidays. She is missed terribly, but we have focused on making these events enjoyable for the kids. Melissa and I have had far less alone time but we started using babysitters for an occasional night out. We miss Mom’s brisket, but we can throw together a pretty decent approximation, not to mention Dad has dusted off his chef hat and come up with his own creations and future holiday favorites. There are countless other ways my mom impacted our lives. Some big, some small, but you find new ways to get things done. You have new routines that become, well, routine. You don’t stop missing the person you lost, but you are also not constantly thinking – OK Mom used to do XYZ, what do we do now. Then every so often life throws up a reminder. [...]