A few thoughts .............

I must admit that I haven't really been listening to all the news lately but one item caught my attention..... funerals for babies are now free..... or that's how I understand it.

I am so pleased about this that I feel like dancing!
I'll tell you why .... although if you're a bit sensitive maybe you shouldn't read any further.......

Just over forty years ago I had a beautiful baby girl, a third daughter, very precious as I had lost my father three months previously and I was so pleased to be delivered of a healthy baby.  She became poorly and had several medical interventions over the next two months and then died.  
It came as a shock to us all, not only us her parents, but my close friend who was staying with us and my sister, along with her two children were shocked.  It was my niece who found little Leanne Denise, DNV went to take her out of her pram to give her her feed and found her .... still tucked up .... still warm......
After the ambulance men had taken Leanne off to hospital, although they admitted that there was nothing more they could do, and the priest had left..... we then had to break the news to our mothers.  Luckily our mothers had relations who could be with them while they absorbed all the information and, were not left alone as we returned home to look after our other two girls.

We had a very steep electric bill for that quarter, Leanne having been born in January we had needed heat practically 24hours a day, plus hot water as we still had terry towelling nappies to wash.  I didn't know how I was going to pay this bill but a good friend at the time came forward to lend the money and be repaid as and when I could.

Then the funeral bill came in .......
Such a shock!
No-one to turn to for this amount of money .......
What to do ......

My Father always said that honesty was the best policy so .......

I went to the Undertakers along with the bill and told him the truth ........ I cannot pay this bill.

We discussed why not, we discussed if I could in the future, we discussed if we could sell anything..... and so it went on until he suggested we draw up an agreement to pay a reasonable amount every month until the debt was paid.
It took me nearly twelve months to pay for Leanne's funeral but I did it.  I never missed a payment, I struggled, but by that November I had paid the debt in total and was able to buy Christmas presents for my other two girls.

I often think of how kind that man was to me ..... he could have taken me to court for non-payment of debt, I could have lost my home, my children but no ....... we talked .....

As far as I understand the article, no-one will again have to go through this horrendous worry at such a sad time.....

I am so pleased for our future generations of Mothers ...... it's bad enough to lose your child and have to make arrangements you never thought you would have to make but, now at least, they wont have the worry of paying for all the costs .........