Andre

For seven years now I've written with a group of mamas who were all due in May and June 2001. In the beginning on a public forum, and sometime in the first year we moved over to a MSN group. We've shared those early days with our firstborns (only one of us was an experienced mama) and seen the "family" grow with the additions of second and third babies. We've shared postpartum depression, toddler tantrums, operations, divorce, job transfers and house sales. We've seen our babies grow up into beautiful, amazing seven-year-olds. We've laughed and cried and cheered each other up, as best as we could, from behind our computer screens.

One of these mamas. Fleur, needs your prayers right now. Her husband Andre had a heart attack two weeks ago, while they were at church camp. He was reanimated for twenty minutes by his uncle, a retired firefighter, and then for twenty minutes more by ambulance medics. On the last attempt his heart started beating again. They kept him cooled and in an artificial coma for the first day or two, and then gradually reduced the medication in the hope that he would start breathing on his own again. A brain scan showed damage and brain activity throughout the brain. As of this moment he has not started breathing on his own and the doctors have decided to stop treatment, probably tomorrow.

Andre is in his mid-thirties and no one saw this coming, he was in perfect health. He and Fleur have three children: Fiene (7), Merel (4) and Joris (4 mos.)

If you have time in the coming days would you say a prayer for Andre, and for Fleur and their children. That God will show mercy and that they will have peace, whichever way it goes.

Wednesday

Andre passed away at 05.30 this morning. During the night his condition worsened and he passed "on his own", a natural death, and not one caused by turning off the machines.

Fleur and her children welcome your prayers and thoughts in the days to come.