A Tribute

Last night a beautiful soul left us, he was just 17.

Jase is the son of a long time friend of mine. When he was 3 months old, and I was pregnant with Stephanie, Kym and I babysat Jase for a few weeks while his Mum had a much needed break from her two little ones.

He was a delightful baby. Full of smiles. So easy to love. Kym and I enjoyed every moment we spent with him, and it filled us with anticipation of the birth of our own child.

A few days after his Mum came home and Jase went home he had a seizure. This seizure almost claimed his life but his Mum and her Dad managed to keep him alive during the fast and scary trip to hospital.

The months to follow would be a blur of seizures, tests, more seizures, stress and worry for the whole family. No one was able to pin point the cause of the seizures and therefore were powerless to stop them. Each seizure left Jase a little more brain damaged.

By the time he was 2 he was on extremely strong medication to try to stop the seizures. This helped and the frequency of them was slowed right down but he was never the same little boy again.

Jase has spent his 17 years being loved, cared for and watched over by friends, family and the whole community.

Everyone loves Jase.

He has gone through school in Stephanie's class, and they have taken him under their wing, at times fiercely protective of him. He was unable to walk long distances, or talk, but he still smiled that beautiful smile.

Jase loved trucks. He had a truck magazine as his constant companion, and he loved to show you his trucks. He also loved to collect bottles and cans for recycling. You had to make sure you held on to your coke, because Jase wasn't concerned with whether you were finished it or not!

Last night Jase suffered his last seizure.

Rest in peace little man. Our world just won't be the same without you.

Lord, please be with Jase's family as they mourn his sudden death. Please offer them comfort and help them in this time of sadness and loss.