"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit"
Psalm 34:18
Noah Zane Turalba
February 12, 2009 - June 17, 2009
Noah Zane Turalba was born February 12, 2009, to Erwin and April Turalba. He went home to be with Jesus on June 17, 2009. Noah lived a full four months, every day a delight to his Mommy and Daddy.
Noah was an attention getter; if shaking the bed didn’t wake either parent, he’d try scratching Daddy! Every morning, April says, “we’d wake up laughing at our son.”
Noah loved taking a bath with his Mommy and Daddy. “I think that made him feel safe,” believes April. He also discovered the fun in pulling the dogs’ tails! They must have loved Noah, too, because they just sat there and let him do it. With his mischievous little grin, “Noah must have thought it was the funniest thing ever,” says his Mommy.
Beginning the healing process was difficult for the Turalbas. “It seemed like there was no reason to live any longer with our baby being gone.” It was particularly difficult being among friends who also had babies the same age as Noah. Watching those babies grow was hard because Erwin and April haven’t been able to watch Noah grow. And yet sometimes it was therapeutic to hold another baby Noah’s age. “It made me think of what he would be doing and what he would look like,” says April.
Finding hope from others who had endured the loss of a baby to SIDS and hearing those people speak positively gave April and Erwin hope. Their journey has brought them to a place of healing. Prayer and having their friends be there for them helped hold the Turalbas when they didn’t think they could hold it together.
The Turalbas still hurt because they miss- and always will miss- their son. But they have emerged from their despair to a place where they can find joy in everyday life again. April finds comfort in knowing that Noah and God would not want to see her cry everyday. She acknowledges that life does go on, albeit a little more slowly for grieving parents at first. “Everything on Earth is just borrowed,” April insightfully shares, “so we need to look at life in a whole new way.”
April encourages other SIDS parents to talk to people and share their feelings openly with someone they trust. “Cry when you need to cry; it’s not healthy to keep it all inside.”
April adds, “We can’t let our spouses lose us as well; we’ve already lost a child, and now we have to be there for each other. Spouses need to be strong for one another, because they are the only two who understand exactly what they are going through.”
To bring hope to other grieving parents, April asserts, “It just seemed like this pain would never end, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel- I promise!”
That light, for the Turalbas, includes the gift of another precious life. April gave birth to Noah’s baby sister, Giovanna, on August 24, 2010. Little Gia has brought such healing and joy to her parents, and they know her big brother would be so proud.