Family says goodbye to their 'Amazing' Grace

Oct 24 2009 by Lisa Hutchinson, The Journal

SHE captured the heart of the North East when she was nicknamed Amazing Grace.

At her funeral yesterday, 28 pink balloons were released into the sky to represent every week she lived.

Little Grace Vincent was a medical sensation but her battle for survival against the odds ended when she died in hospital last Sunday.

Her family released the balloons from the Whitley Bay memorial garden with her life story and her tiny handprint attached.

The baby earned her nickname after she was struck down with a rare form of meningitis called Group B Strep and rushed to hospital at just six weeks old.

After four days watching their daughter struggle in intensive care, her parents took the agonising decision to switch off the equipment keeping her alive.

But, freed from the tubes, “Amazing Grace” stunned her parents and medics by beginning to breathe on her own.

Parents Emily Ashurst and Pete Vincent, both 26, were ecstatic after her miracle recovery, although they knew she could still suffer lasting damage.

A scan later showed Grace had suffered “catastrophic brain damage”. In June, Grace was allowed home but kept returning to hospital for minor medical problems.

Last month she caught pneumonia and battled through it. But she fell ill once more and died in North Tyneside General last weekend.

Yesterday her miniature coffin was carried into Whitley Bay Crematorium and her favourite toys lay beside her.

Music from French composer Achille-Claude Debussy was played while the congregation sang the hymn Amazing Grace.

Her mother Emily, of Holystone, North Tyneside, who has another daughter Megan, six, said: “It’s an emotional day but the balloons mean that Grace’s memory will live on.”

A tag has been attached to each of the balloons which. Part of it reads: “We hope that these balloons will travel far and wide and so Grace’s story continues to touch many hearts even now when she is not here.”

Those who find a floating memorial are asked to contact Emily and Pete to inform them of how far the balloon has travelled.