DELIGHT DREAMS (A RAINBOW STORY)

Delight Ajoku was born on 28th of January 2021. A beautiful baby boy with lots of prospects and dreams. He weighed 3.8kg (8.3 lb) at birth and thrived. He was such a happy and curious baby who loved to watch cartoons and bluey was his absolute favourite, he will stare and smile at the television whenever bluey came on. His mother fondly called him THE LIGHT OF GOD (rhymes with his name Delight). He was my sister's third baby and it was lovely to get videos and photos of him on a daily basis of his milestones though that didn't last long. I live in Scotland and she lives back home in Nigeria with her beautiful family so regular updates of photos and videos in the family group chat was how we all celebrated and kept informed of all the milestones, the smiles, the laughter, the grabbing, the facial changes etc.

I looked forward to meeting my nephew when I eventually visit home but this was never going to happen. Delight, my beautiful nephew passed away on the 18th of June, 2021 at only 5 months old. Our family was devastated and completely broken. I watched my sister turn into a different person, a grief that can not be explained. she was inconsolable, the baby she had played with few hours ago, bathed, fed and put to bed was gone, gone forever!! My heart was completely broken and I figured if I felt like I couldn't breathe, only God knows what my sister and Delight's siblings were going through. I didn't know she will survive this tragedy, this crushing grief. She was a mirror of herself. The once strong woman I knew have fallen into pieces not knowing if she will ever be put back together. A pain I won't wish on anyone and I know pain but this was a different kind.

She had her village, her support system but sometimes she wanted to be on her own, to believe that this tragedy actually happened. I remember us chatting on the phone and she said to me "I've seen it happen to other people but I never knew it would happen to me, sometimes I can't breath and nothing can numb this pain".

It was a horrible couple of years, the roller coaster of emotions, each day was different, some days she could handle the pain, some days were very hard, extremely hard but she found the strength somehow. She had other children to be strong for and as difficult as it was to carry on, she had no other choice. There was no other option but to live with this unimaginable crushing pain. She went on to have 2 more miscarriages after Delight's death. My heart hurt for her, I wanted to take some sorrows away so she can catch a break, even if it's just for a day. She deserves Joy I prayed.

And that Joy came, a beautiful rainbow baby was born!!!! He is called JOEL, a beautiful baby boy born on the 7th of February 2024 weighing 4.1kg (9 lb). He brought us hope, peace and Joy. My sister and her husband could breathe again despite a mixture of excitement and fear, "the what could have been", it was time to heal. Joel is a symbol of hope, a reminder that even after the darkest nights, the sun will shine again, bringing with it, a promise of a brighter tomorrow.