Saab Magalona Finds The Strength To Face A Mother's Biggest Fear
Saab and her husband Jim Bacarro said hello—and goodbye—to their infant daughter on February 8.
The mother who was carrying twins, a little boy and a little girl, made the announcement that her daughter had passed away during her complication-ridden birth last month. Her son, on the other hand, is being nursed back to health at the infant intensive care unit and is improving with each day that passes. She published a post titled "Heartbroken but Hopeful" on her blog, while her sister Maxene showed her support for her "baby sister" on Instagram.
But even with the improvement of her other child's health and the support of family and friends, the 29-year-old first-time mom shares how the harrowing experience is something no parent could ever be prepared for and ultimately, never really truly forget.
On her blog, she writes, "I’ve stayed silent because I think I’ve been in denial. I thought keeping it to ourselves would make this whole thing unreal." She refers to the month of silence that had passed since the tragedy, to the time she told the world about what had happened.
Saab further reveals that she herself needed time at the intensive care unit because of further complications she did not specify. The death of her daughter, as it seems, was the ultimate sacrifice for the mother and brother she would never meet. And because of this, Saab felt the need to finally break the spell of grief and tell the world about her daughter's story.
"Publishing this means that this whole thing is real but I can’t keep her a secret for much longer. I need to honor her. She was such a beautiful girl and we believe she gave her life for me and her twin brother," she says.
Rather than dwell on the immeasurable sense of loss that Saab and her family must cope with, the young mom made the impossible, possible: staying positive and hopeful.
She has taken this trying time to credit the individuals who helped ease her pain and soothe her suffering, explaining that it was her and her husband's responsibility to be forgiving and kind as an example to their son. Counting her blessings, like having a son and being blessed with a second life herself, has also been something Saab has been doing.
She mentions her doctors and nurses, the other parents they encountered in the hospital who empathized with them, and even the strangers who had offered her comforting smiles. All of them, as it seems, were crucial in her physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.
"Despite this tragedy, we have encountered so many heroes and kind people. We are thankful for family, for the doctors and nurses in the NICU, ICU and maternity ward, for the other babies and parents in the NICU that inspire us, for the strangers that smile at us," Saab shares.
Saab announced that she was pregnant with twins in September last year, and revealed the death of her daughter just a few days ago. Her blog post detailing this experience was published on the 9th death anniversary of her father, legendary Filipino musician Francis Magalona.
Her daughter was buried next to her grandfather. Saab and her family believe that he's looking after her and the two are now much happier and in a better place.
"We are taking it one day at a time, focusing on all the good things we are blessed with. I am still alive, I have a strong and loving husband, and God has shown us so many miracles through our little boy," Saab says.
"If you look hard enough, this doesn’t have to be such a scary world after all," she concludes.
Photo from @saabmagalona
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