Piotrs' death, and the preparation for his funeral, alone, but for 1 friend

My beautiful son Piotr died on the 28th March 2009.

Immediately follwoing his death, I spoke with his Mother, Oliwia Oleksyk, about arranging his funeral. Her reaction, though vile, was nothing to be surprised about, given her behaviour throughout her pregnancy, her failure to tell me , and more importantly, her Ob./Gyn about all relevent facts in her medical history, facts that would ,seemingly, have a connection, a link, to preventing Piotrs' death. (Her attitude to Piotrs' life was graphically shown just 2 days before, when Oliwia Oleksyk ignored her doctors instruction to go immediately to Hospital, as Piotrs Health, indeed his life was in severe danger. Oliwia Oleksyk went home instead, and stayed there for the night).

I spoke with her on Sunday the 29th March at the Hospital,  the day after Piotr died. I told her again that I was a stranger to Poland, I do not speak the Polish language, I know nothing of its burial customs or practices, despite being a so-called Catholic Country, its a form of Catholicism that I, born an Irish Catholic, am entirely unfamiliar with.

She said to me, and I quote, "If a fucking funeral is so important to you, then you arrange it"

These were not the words of a grieving Mother, not the words of a Mother in mourning, these words were typical of her attitude to Piotr throughout her pregnancy, distant, dismissive, uncaring.

I was fortunate , incredibly fortunate, to have gotten to know a gentleman in Gorlice named Grzegorz, (I do not provide his surname name here as I do not wish to intrude on his privacy), and asked him to help me arrange Piotrs' funeral.

He agreed to do so, and on Monday the 30th March 2009, I started my attempts to provide my son Piotr with a place to rest, a place of peace.