This poor mum had to watch the tragic deaths of her two children - within eight months of each other.
Stefanie Boyce, 37, said it had been her ‘profound honour’ to watch little girl Brooklyn, nine, pass away less than a year after her brother, Jayden, 11.
Both children had Sanfilippo Syndrome or MPSIII which causes the loss of speech, seizures and dementia and then sadly death. She also has a second daughter, Ellie, six, who is not affected by the condition.
When Jayden died Stefanie had described the death as ‘beautiful’ but said she worried that Brooklyn’s wouldn’t be as peaceful.
‘My greatest fear was B’s passing would be sudden and tragic. A seizure. A morning I’d find her not breathing,’ she said on Instagram.
‘Some way that I couldn’t say good-bye. Some way not as holy or sacred as Jayden’s.’
But she said her daughter’s death left her with “a weird feeling… that my grief feels complete.” And just a day after Brooklyn’s death the mum celebrated her 14thwedding anniversary with husband Justin, 38.
Today is our 14 year anniversary and a part of it will be spent at the funeral home planning our daughter's funeral. We received a text from Justin's dad this morning that said we were a matched set. "In the old days it was called a matched set. It meant that you do life together in such a way that you complement each others weaknesses & cause your path to be straight." What a perfect way to describe us. I have watched this man serve and love his family well for the past 14 years. He has given up his own dreams to champion mine. He has maybe changed more diapers and feed more meals to our kids than me. He comes home from work with dirty hands and a full heart, eager to make memories with his children. I have watched him lift our children in and out of cars, off bathroom floors, up and down play sets, and carry them to bed, and I have watched him carry out two of our children and place them in funeral vans. I have watched him weep and share his feelings. I have watched him create space and listen as others have done the same. I have watched him love and help out his friends, from helping buddy's move or troubleshooting a water heater. From playing with their kids as "uncle Jut" to planning a snowmobiling trip with his friends. I have watched him tenderly love our children, from reading books every night to stroking their hair. And I have watched him-like a stealth ninja in boxer briefs-chase out a drunk, back porch visitor. I have watched him on Sundays lead by example, coordinating our Special Needs program, loving kids and parents and volunteers in only a way a dad can. And in a few days, I will watch him get on a stage and talk about Brooklyn. I will watch him wake up that morning and find him on his knees, weeping and praying. Then, I will watch him smile, the creases that surround his eyes light up like sunbeams as he thanks people for coming. He is the most loyal and selfless guy I know, and I am sure he has a weakness in there somewhere, but I'm gonna have to spend the rest of my life trying to find it. I have a front row seat to his life. That's what marriage is-being a witness. I am so thankful. Match set.
On the day Brooklyn passed away Stefanie posted a picture of herself in a kayak holding her daughter.
She wrote: 'It has been my profound honour to watch Brooklyn take her first and her last breath.
'Mourning and sadness feel just as right as joy.
'Brooklyn, you have brought joy to our life and to every life that has ever been touched by yours.'
In a tribute to Jayden, she described him as a gentle boy with a “vibrant smile” who loved dancing with his mum, playing with his dad and holding hands with both his sisters.
This article originally appeared on Practical Parenting.
