seán james mcloughin

It’s hard to put into words James’ journey other than to say… 

It has broken our hearts open with more love and sorrow than we could ever imagine. 

 

We found out we were expecting in the summer of 2020 and were delighted by the news that our family was growing and that we would soon be welcoming our third child. Intuitively we sensed (as with all children) that James was special and that he had much to teach us.   

 

Midway through our pregnancy, we found out the devastating news that our sweet boy was diagnosed with Trisomy 18. Trisomy 18 is a “life limiting” genetic condition (completely unrelated to our other children’s CDH).  Sadly, James was not expected to live a long life.

 

The journey through his pregnancy was a raw and challenging one. We struggled to know what the best path was for our son and our family.  We had no idea how much time we would have with James or how his little life story would unfold.  In the end our hearts led us towards the North Stars of deep trust and surrender. As we ultimately prepared to say hello and goodbye, it was our greatest hope that we would be given the strength to support and honor his unique life path with true dignity, reverence and love.

 

We were blessed to welcome James earth-side on January 21st 2021 and he gifted us two precious days of love. Miraculously, James got to meet his excited siblings Ciarán and Áine and we got cherished time together as a family.  Although our time was short and we desperately wanted him to stay, James let us know when it was time for him to go. Our precious son passed peacefully in our arms while being held in a circle of light by so many who loved him. 

 

Despite it being the height of the pandemic, our prayers were answered and we were able to travel back to Ireland to lay James to rest in his dad's home village of Cleggan… although he sometimes seems far away we feel great peace knowing that James is resting with his ancestors and the powerful presence of the land and the sea.

 

We feel deeply honored that James’ soul chose us to be his family.  While our hearts are shattered, they have also been blown open in awe and gratitude for the most remarkable experience of love that truly was our son's short life.  There is so much light knowing that James will forever be with us in spirit and that he has gifted us the honor of carrying forward his small but mighty legacy of love.