It’s the time of year when new parents look forward to sharing magical moments with their bundles of joy. A baby’s first Christmas is one to be remembered, and after dreaming of it for years, Jane Oundjian was finally able to experience it for herself, only for it to be cruelly snatched away. She knows too well how overwhelming grief can feel at this time of year, having lived through it herself.
Jane, now 73, married her husband Nick, 78, in 1968, and a year later, they decided to start trying for a baby. Aftereight years of fertility problems, while Jane painfully watched her friends’ families grow, their first son, Jeremy, arrived in March 1977. ‘The first Christmas with Jeremy was joyous. After so many years of wishing and waiting, it was surreal having him there with the whole family. All that uncertainty we’d felt washed away,’ she smiles.
Jane, Nick and Jeremy spent their first Christmas as a three with Jane’s family in West Sussex, with Jeremy dressed in a traditional red and cream romper suit.
‘He was a big, bonny, beautiful baby,’ she says. ‘He was crawling around, trying to get under the Christmas tree, and his older cousins were so excited to spend time with him.’
For the first time in years, Jane felt at peace, and that finally, with Jeremy in their lives, everything would be OK. But just five months later, in May 1978, Jeremy became poorly with gastroenteritis.
Struck with sickness and diarrhoea, he ended up in hospital and died five days later. ‘We thought he’d be OK but everything happened so quickly. We were in shock.’
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 16 - 23, 2021 (Double Issue) من WOMAN'S WEEKLY.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 16 - 23, 2021 (Double Issue) من WOMAN'S WEEKLY.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Patchwork PROJECTS
Easy ideas to show off English paper-piecing techniques
Night train to BERLIN
Germany's exciting and varied capital is now reachable by train from the UK
French FANCY
Raymond Blanc's right-hand man, Benoit Blin's favourite bakes
Are you missing out on BENEFITS?
Here's how to find out what you are eligible for
TRAY bien
All-in-one tray bakes, packed with flavour
We took a grown-up GAP YEAR!
Who says taking time out is just for students?
'I'm obsessed with reality TV!'
THIS WEEK'S COLUMNIST Author and presenter Louise Minchin
What to eat and do for A HEALTHIER GUT
Fix those problems and boost your wellbeing
Picture palaces
In an age of cinema complexes, we celebrate five historic and beautiful picture houses that have stood the test of time
'My diet during Bake Off is cake and alcohol!'
Dame Prue Leith on the popular baking contest