Heartbreaking Photos Capture Sydney Couple's Final Moments With Their Newborn Son

Nancy and Charlie McLean lost their beautiful baby boy Edison at 7 days old. They're now sharing their heartbreaking story and their stunning photos in a bid to raise money for local midwives and neonatal intensive care services..

James Day, a 31-year-old wedding photographer, received a phone call on Wednesday, March 23, to go to Sydney’s Children’s Hospital.

There, Nancy and Charlie were coming to grips with the news that their baby boy had, at worst, only hours to live.

“I wanted to be quick, I knew not to ask ‘how are you?’ because it’s obvious. When I got there, I realised it wasn’t the normal pace, things needed to be treated differently,” James told news.com.au.

For six hours, the photographer sat on the floor and tried to make himself invisible. He took hundreds of photographs of baby Edison that Nancy now looks at every morning before finding the courage to get herself out of bed.

Edison died two days after James visited him in hospital. His condition was a rare genetic disorder that doctors did not initially diagnose. When it was obvious he would not survive, Nancy and Charlie made the decision to call James.

In video footage shot following the visit, James is visibly distressed.

On Facebook he wrote: “Usually I’m asked to help document people’s happiest days. But some of the most important days aren’t always the happiest ones.”

James said the family wanted to share their story with the world to remind others to love right now.

James took no payment for the assignment. He asked that money instead go to the Royal Women’s Hospital Midwives Group Practice. The family has set up a fundraising page that has already received more than $7000 in donations.

On James’ blog, they left a tribute to their boy. They said Edison was taken off a ventilator at just five-days-old and, though given only hours to live, started breathing for himself.

“(The machine) was turned off and we said goodbye (but) our little fighter had other ideas. He resumed breathing for himself and gave us two more beautiful days where we were blessed enough to take him for a picnic at the beach and even bring him back home again for 24 hours of cuddle time in our own bed.

“It is hard to find the positives in losing your child, but Edison has taught us a beautiful lesson that we need to share. Cherish every moment you have with your loved ones. Love them like this is the last moment you will ever have with them. Never wait.”

Donate in honour of Edison Charles McLean here.

Source: www.news.com.au