Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s grandson was born stillborn, according to a Facebook post by his son Mark Balakrishnan.
Sharing Mark’s lengthy Facebook post about his son’s passing, Vivian quoted Queen Elizabeth II’s quote and said “grief is the price we pay for love.”
Here is Mark’s post
Our third child, Evan, is perfect, without blemish or sin.
He was stillborn on Wednesday. Grief and heartache have overwhelmed us.
Yet, he has given us so much joy as we watched him grow for 35 weeks, as Erin and Ethan sang to him, and as we felt his kicks. He gave us hope as we planned for a future together. He gave us a real, tangible joy that will stay in our hearts.
As his earthly parents, we could not do enough to keep him and bring him up. But he’s now being embraced by the almighty heavenly father, one who can do all the things we couldn’t, and we know he will watch over our baby and hold him tight.
We had one evening to hold him, to be a family, and to tell him we love him. I had one short walk with him, not to the park, but to the mortuary. Still, we got to go as father and son.
Nothing will ever make this ok, and no explanation will ever suffice. Yet, we are at peace with this outcome, and choose to celebrate his life. Our marriage and our love for each of our children continue to grow.
Chances are, it’ll be some time before we see him again. Thankfully, we have grandparents in heaven, especially my Mama, so they are on babysitting duty for the time being.
We will always love you.
