On the afternoon of 15 September 2015 our lives changed forever. Our beautiful, perfect daughter Isabella, 7 ½ months old, died tragically. “Belsie” asphyxiated on her own vomit in her cot and help had been too late to bring her back.
On the morning of 4 May 2016, our son Thomas was born prematurely at 26 weeks and 3 days. We had much hope for his survival but he only lived for a few hours before joining his sister in heaven.
“I know there is strength in the differences between us. I know there is comfort, where we overlap.”
― Ani DiFranco
Isabella1509 is dedicated to our sweet children. Through this process we have found ourselves driven to seek understanding by helping others. Our blog is a deeply personal account of our family and our journey through this tragic juncture of our lives. We hope that our writings, passages and poems from others and our expression of grief helps you in your time of need, shining light into your heart for those you have lost.
“You will lose someone you can’t live without,and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”
― Anne Lamott
isabella1509 
A family member heard you speak on Saturday at a breakfast in the Eastern Cape, and told me of your blog.
WHAT loss!!! The journey of grief and loss IS PAINFUL!!! Our loss was the loss of our 30 year old son by suicide, while detoxing off heroin .. on 17 September of 2015.. just 2 days after your baby daughter died!! So our loss was different, in that we had 30 years with our son.. but our loss is ENORMOUS, for the “no mores” and the heartache of his many years of struggle to break free from addiction, and of our constant intervention to get help for him in his tormented struggles over the 17 years he battled. My heart ACHES for YOUR loss of YOUR PRECIOUS son and daughter!!! Thank you for your courage in sharing your story of loss!!
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You’re a legend, Simone. This talk must have resonated with every young woman there. You managed to inspire the achievers and the strugglers and give them words to remember through their next life journey.
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