Dear Motik: Today You Died

On Monday 14th March, 2011, Andrew O’Mahony took his four and a half year old son, Motik, to West Middlesex Hospital A&E after what had seemed to be a bout of gastroenteritis worsened. 

A little over two and a half hours later, Andrew and Yulia, Motik’s Mum, held their younger son’s hands as they heard the crushing words, “Time of death, 11.06.”

Motik died as a result of a rare congenital condition called Diaphragmatic Eventration. 

His doctor later said, “If I lived for a thousand years I would not expect to encounter what happened to your son again”. 

That evening, Andrew sat down and began a letter to his dead son.

Part love letter, part thank you letter, Dear Motik is also, as one reader commented, “a beautifully written meditation on the miracle and complexities of parenthood.” 

Motik was an extraordinary person, and if the letter allows his spirit to live on and help others, then it will have served as a fitting tribute to his memory.