Angel Tyler's Story

August 6, 1998-July 15, 1999

Hello, my name is Pat and I would like to share with you "Tyler's Story".  Tyler is my grandson and my first grandchild.   He was born to my son Sean and his girlfriend Linh a year ago on August 6, 1998.   He weighed only 4 lbs and was 4-6 weeks premature.  He looked perfect in every way except his left eye.  The doctor's first reaction was glaucoma.  But because eye development ties in with brain development, they decided to do a CAT scan to rule out any other problems.  The first news we had was that Tyler was probably blind and possibly deaf.  So for two days we were trying to understand what this meant for Tyler....how his life would be different from other children.  Then the results of the CAT scan came in.  I remember very clearly, my son coming to us on that Sunday morning and sharing with us that Tyler's brain did not develop normally and that he has severe brain damage.  We all spent the day at the Hospital taking turns visiting little Tyler in ICU.  The Neurologist met with all or us that afternoon and explained what this diagnosis called "Hydranencephaly" was and answered all our questions.   Would he ever walk? Would he ever talk? Would he ever crawl?  What would his capabilities be?  Then the answer to the question we all dreaded to ask...how long would he be expected to live?  When the doctor told us less than one year, we all sat there in shock.  The doctor quietly left to give us a private moment to be together and cry.  We eventually went back in to see Tyler and take turns holding him.   He looked so perfect.  We just couldn't imagine this to be happening.

We came to believe that God has sent an angel down from Heaven.  We began to feel very privileged, that our family was chosen to love and care for this gift from God until one day, he would go back home to his Heavenly Father.  So our journey began.  Tyler stayed in the hospital for almost 3 weeks and it was there that the bonds of love were formed.

Between visits at the hospital, our jobs and college classes that Sean and Linh were trying to finish up, we spent every free moment preparing for the day that little Tyler would come home.  we later came to find out that the hospital staff didn't expect Tyler ever to leave the hospital.  They were surprised each and every day that he hung on to life.  But that glorious day came when Tyler came home with his mommy and daddy.  Aunties and Uncles and family all came to welcome Tyler home.

Our Heavenly Father blessed us all with this precious gift for eleven and a half months.  During this time Tyler taught us a lot about unconditional love.  Our love of family was enriched by his presence.

Tyler was given his Hawaiian name "Kekamaehupomaika'i" by his Auntie.  It means " a blessing of strength" and he lived true to his name.  When he was 3 1/2 months old he became quite ill from problems with an eye infection and seizures so severe that he couldn't keep down enough feedings for him to gain any weight.  His temperature dropped so low one morning, 92 degrees, and Sean couldn't warm him up.  From the doctor's office Sean took Tyler straight to the hospital and there the doctors said he was dying, maybe 24 hrs. at the most.  On Thanksgiving, three days later, he was home with us.  It was truly a Thanksgiving we will never forget.  Tyler had his ups and downs over the next several months.  We knew in the back of our minds that someday god was going to call home this little angel, and that made every day we had with him so very special.

On the fourth of July weekend, my son came into the kitchen and said "let's take Tyler to the beach".  So his mommy got him dressed in his beach shorts and shirt and little hat.  His grandfather (Papa) ran out to look for a little beach tent.  Daddy put together the fishing poles and I put together a picnic.  We loaded the car and off we weren't to the North Shore.  It was a grand time with Tyler and a memory we will always cherish.

Little did we know that 10 days later he would be gone.  It was early on the morning of July 15, 1999....Tyler had been sleeping between his mommy and daddy when the Angels came to take him home.

Our little Tyler is now an angel watching over us.  The easy part was loving him, the hard part is letting him go.  Sean and Linh created a short little poem that they had displayed on a ribbon at his funeral service.

We gave you all our love
You gave us a smile
And that meant the world to us

In closing I would like to share with you this poem that a kind person sent to our family.  It touched us deeply.

The Broken Cord

We little knew that morning that God
was going to call your name
In life we loved you dearly,
In death we do the same.
It broke our hearts to lose you,
You did not go alone;
For part of us went with you,
The day God called you home.
You left us peaceful memories,
Your love is still our guide;
And though we cannot see you,
You are always at our side.
Our family chain is broken,
And nothing seems the same;
but as God calls us, one by one,
The Chain will link again.

Author unknown.

Aloha, Pat (Tyler's Grandma)