The Fragility of Human Life

Melanie Jean Juneau

A couple of months ago,  I realized how fragile  human life really  is when I almost lost a daughter during childbirth.  During labor, she almost bled out when she lost a litre of blood in mere seconds after an emergency C-section.

Of course, in a modern hospital, an emergency team of no less than ten people descended on her in the recovery room, whipped off all sheets and even her nightgown which upset her husband. He had to be dragged out of the room, and told why she was treated like a piece of meat, naked with doors left wide open to the public corridor.

Life comes before propriety. No one stops to close a door when a life is at stake.

An hour later, I gazed down at her limp  form, as a tear trickled down her pale face. She whispered, “I felt myself slipping away…”

My daughter  thought for a moment that she was dying. Actually, she was dying.

Years ago she would have died. In the third world, she would have died, as the result of a series of complications that no one could have foreseen.

Her husband carried her weak body to the washroom. The nurse held her new son’s weight, as he nursed.

Life and death are not as far apart as I had once presumed.

Life is precarious.

Life is fragile.

Life is precious.

I treasure my new grandson. I treasure my now anemic daughter who will take two months to rebuild her strength and heal her blood levels.

I treasure life. All life as a gift from God.

Ponder:  Stop for a moment and remember the women in two thirds of the world who face the threat of death during every delivery.

Prayer: Lord, bless all mothers and expectant mothers. Open our eyes to see and our fingertips to write  to help expectant mothers in the third world.

∞  ∞  ∞

 

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6 thoughts on “The Fragility of Human Life”

  1. Pingback: Our Chance to Actually Do Something About Christian Persecution - BigPulpit.com

  2. Beautiful reminder, Melanie, through your own personal experience. I always love reading your articles. You consistently have the ability to remind us that it is the simplicity of life that is the most valuable and through our humility we are able to appreciate its worth. Peace be with you.

  3. Melanie, this is a sensitive and powerful article. On the one hand you share from your personal experience how precious life is. On the other hand you challenge us to pray for mothers, especially in the third world. I could not help to think of our Blessed Mother Mary as I was reading this, and I am asking her to pray too.

    1. melanie jean juneau

      “I could not help to think of our Blessed Mother Mary as I was reading this, and I am asking her to pray too”….now that comment is extermely interesting because I was aware of Mary’s presence as I wrote this article

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