A Witness to Life & Love
by Jim C. Cunningham
Early
on in her pregnancy, Maureen Regina (Cunningham) Zimmerman learned that the
baby she was carrying after her first attempt ended in miscarriage, suffered
from a genetic disorder known as "Potter's Syndrome," her tiny unborn
baby having no kidneys at all, and thus very little amniotic fluid which is
essential for proper lung development. She was told by medical authorities that
if her baby survived to live birth, he would probably live not longer than a
few minutes.
At
this point, many (most?) health "care" professionals encourage
abortion, or at least suggest it as an option. But Maureen's love for her baby,
however physically deficient, was so obvious that no one ever dared even to
propose the option of "terminating" her pregnancy. Maureen was
resolved from the moment she new she was pregnant, to give her baby all the
love she could for as long as she could, even if her baby was to live only a
few minutes.
Born
at home in Bakersfield, Vermont in 1984, baptized there at St. George's, and
reared in Orleans County, after graduating from North Country High School with
a 4.0 cumulative average, Maureen chose to enlist in the United States Air
Force, serving her whole term in the state of Wyoming, guarding missile silos
as an MP. There, in 2003, she married Larry Zimmerman, another former USAF
airman, and later moved to Eldred, Illinois where her new in-laws live.
Experiencing
what she thought was the beginning of real labor, though several weeks early, Maureen
desired the assistance of her mother, Linda S. Cunningham, a resident of
Westfield, VT and an employee at Bel-Aire in Newport. Believing that birth was
imminent, and anxious to perform an emergency infant baptism on her grandson,
Linda immediately flew out to join her daughter and remained with Maureen
through the end of her pregnancy and the birth.
On
January 19, 2007, at 10:42 PM, a 3 lb. Brennan (Cunningham) Zimmerman was born
at nearly full term at Jersey Community Hospital in Jerseyville, Illinois.
While still receiving nourishment through his umbilical cord, Brennan was
baptized by his grandmother, Linda. He was loved and cuddled by his mother,
father and many present relatives. Having very undeveloped lungs, Brennan was
unable to breathe well, and having no kidneys, he was unable to process even a
tiny amount of his mother's milk. He was so listless and weak that he could
barely manage to muster enough strength to suck.
But
he was loved. How he was loved! One after another, his new family each took
turns at cuddling with their brand new addition, all committed to literally
loving little Brennan to death. Expecting only a few minutes to enjoy him, all
were delighted--especially his mother, Maureen, to have been given 23.5 hours
to love him. Slowly, and apparently without too much discomfort, tiny Brennan
grew weaker and weaker and "breathed" his last.
In her youth, Maureen would pilgrimage
yearly to the "March for Life" in either Montpelier, Washington, DC,
or both, strongly believing, as Dr. Seuss taught, "A person is a person,
no matter how small." Maureen believes that love is always the best
medicine, and that everybody needs love, however "disabled" they are
or are considered to be. Naturally, the tragedy of her baby's premature death
pains her frequently, but she knows that her son received only love all
throughout his extremely brief life. Maureen has proven to be an heroic witness
to both life and love. Consolation and condolences can be sent to her at: RR 1,
Box 34, Eldred, IL 62027 or MAILTO:MMobyD@yahoo.com
The diocese of Burlington, VT is assisting
the grandparents in procuring a baptismal certificate for their grandson,
Brennan, from the diocese of Springfield, Illinois. While Catholics born in the
50s were routinely taught by the nuns in early elementary school how to perform
emergency baptisms, today things are different. The Catholic Church has never
(yet) definitively taught what becomes of babies who die without baptism, but
she has definitively taught that baptism ensures eternal salvation, making a
person a child of God and member of the mystical body of Christ. It was with
this surety of faith that Linda Cunningham was determined, out of love, to risk
nothing and do whatever it took to ensure eternal life for her grandson. Though
she, too, naturally grieves at Maureen's tragic loss, the conviction that
Brennan is a saint in heaven greatly mitigates the pain. We are proud of our
daughter's strong commitment to life and love and encourage other women who may
find themselves in similar situations, to follow her example, "loving
their babies to death."
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