Day Five

Day five brought "Oatmeal", Grey's favorite monkey. Notice, I still haven't opened day six!

After we had admitted Grey to the hospital, I went down to the gift shop to see if I could find something for him. There sat the monkey. We had called Grey "Monkey" from the time I found out I was pregnant with him. It was perfect!

When Grey saw him, he grinned from ear to ear. He absolutely fell in love with Oatmeal and would have conversations and laugh at him as though he were real. The next morning the nurse came in to ask us what Grey might want to eat for breakfast. Oatmeal, hence the name.

The day Grey died an amazing man, Jay, came from Doeppenschmidt to pick up his body. As he laid Grey down on top of a white sheet on our couch, I began to cry. He looked at me, genuinely broken-hearted too, and asked if Grey had a special stuffed animal I would want him to take with him. Oatmeal. Jay took Oatmeal from me, placed him in Grey's arms, and snuggled them both in his favorite blanket.

Nearly a week later, Grey was to be cremated, along with Oatmeal. Jay had gotten into work a little late. He noticed that Grey was gone, however Oatmeal was still there. He called me and told me that he was supposed to take Grey, but someone (trying to make his day a little less hectic) took Grey for him. He wanted me to know that he had called the crematorium and told them not to proceed until he got there with his monkey. He went on his lunch hour.

And Oatmeal was cremated with Grey.