Remembering Imi

When I first met Imi, she was completely and utterly Little Girl Lost. She didn't know who she was, where she was, what this world was meant to be.

She knew she was hungry, but she struggled to suck.

She knew she was tired, but seizures snapped her body into wakefulness.

And she knew love. She knew that she was safe snuggled into someone's arms, sucking on an adult's little finger with an intensity she never managed with either bottle or dummy.

And so I carried her. For two years, if she was awake, she was tucked up next to my heart, and perhaps the warmth of my body helped a little to lessen the spasms which twisted through her.

Right from the start, we were a part of a team. Her neurologist forever tweaking the balance between seizure control and sedation. Surgeons fixing bits of her body the spasticity pulled out of joint. Physios and other therapists encouraging her body into functional positions. Helen House providing a safe space so we could take time to just be a family, letting someone else juggle the meds and other regimes.

Imogen was a lot brighter than most of us realised. Incredibly limited by her body, she realised language had meaning when she was two. It took her another three years to find a way of making herself understood.

These were her golden years. Happy, small enough to be portable, we took holidays across Europe and Florida, and she loved the warmth and the attention. Roller coasters, cable cars, mountain railways and feeding dolphins. 

And illnesses. Prolonged seizures and spasms contorting her body into painful asymmetry. Chest infections from which she never quite recovered, each one leaving her a little bit weaker, with more breathing problems.

Finally, two and a half years ago, she had the illness I think of as her tipping point. She lost her laugh. Smiling still happened, but it was hard work. There was pain. A lot of pain. School became too much for her, crowds overwhelmed her, and despite the morphine, she began spending longer and longer in bed.

She was still Imogen. She still had her wicked sense of humour, accusing respite staff of locking her in a dark cupboard, taking gleeful pleasure in kicking small children. Not able to howl with laughter any more, still she would grin widely and shout a yes if there were ever a chance to insult a friend.

And she loved. She loved to lie beside her best friend. She loved to have Amana brush her hair, or rub her hands. She loved to lie in bed and listen to everything happening around her in her en suite house.

And she loved God. New Wine was a highlight of the year for her; she managed to be up and awake hours earlier than at home, in order to make the morning worship sessions.

In her long wakeful nights, she chose to listen to her audio bible or gentle hymns.

Even in her last week at home, no longer able to tolerate any kind of food, in huge amounts of pain, she was still very clear she wanted to come to church. And with every breath she could muster, she sang.

It would be her last outing.

Imogen was tired. Exhausted. After that Sunday, she went to bed. And she was very clear she had no further wishes. She did not want to make the long trek up north to watch her friend be baptised. She didn't want to see anyone, do anything. She was done.

She knew exactly where she was and what was happening. As she got weaker she could no longer open her mouth to say yes, but settled for very clear, intentional blinks. Even the morning she died, she was able to let me know the song she was listening to was important to her, and that we should sing it today.

There were other conversations. And then there was rest.

Maybe looking at Imi, you'd think her life was sad and grim, and maybe you question the point of it all. I'm standing here to say it was all completely worth it. There was so much love, so much laughter. She lived a life that was deep and rich and full of joy. Imi knew what was important. She had a relationship with God that was deeper than many of us will ever know, and she was absolutely certain where she was going and with whom. When the time comes, I hope I can say the same.