Silvie's Life

Silvie’s Life by Dr. Marianne Rogoff        140 pages

 Grab a box of tissues if you plan on reading this book, and clean your calendar ahead of time because you wont’ be able to put it down.  Otr at least I couldn’t.

I read this short book when it came out in 1994, I forget which. It touched me then and the story of Silvie’s life has stayed with me. When I ran across a copy at me mom’s, I decided to read it again, and it is still as powerful today.

This is a true story, the story of a normal pregnancy and a normal birth. Well, Marianne had her baby at home, with a midwife instead of in a hospital. Still, everything when as expected. Until the midwife couldn’t get the baby to breath. A doctor came; 9-1-1 was called; she was rushed to a hospital, then a bigger hospital. Then came the news: the baby had severe brain damage. She couldn’t cry, swallow, breathe on her own, move her body and the doctors told her parents she wouldn’t grow.  The suggested they take her home to die.

Silvie’s parents were fighters. They endured sliding a tube down Silvis’s little throat to feed her. They cuddled with her; treated her like she was normal. They debated the ethics of just letting her lie in her crib and slowly starve today. But they loved their little girl and would do whatever they had to to make her comfortable in the time that she had. It was heartbreaking to watch. 

I go into more detail, as readers can guess the end without having me say another word. But the one thing that “Silvie’s Life” does, is to get readers thinking about end-of-life issues, narrative medicine and palliative care. What would you do if this had happened to your child?  And what does her parents do when they unexpectedly find themselves pregnant again. A powerful story that won’t leave readers hearts for a long time, if ever.  That’s why “Silvie’s Life” receivs 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.