John Junior Franklyn, Jr.
(2004 - 2007)

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General Details

Name:	John Junior Franklyn, Jr.
Gender:	Male
Age:	2 years old
Lived:	Saturday, 18 December 2004 - Saturday, 20 January 2007

My Story

John Patrick Franklyn, Jr, died at age 25 months, from SUDC Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood aka toddler SIDS, altough 42 times rarer than SIDS. This is the term used for a child over age 1 year who has died of unkown causes. He had a full autopsy by a coroner who was educated about this rare phenomenon, and we got a second opinion of sorts by SUDC Pediatric research experts who are trying to find an explanation for SUDC . They also could find no indication for why he died, it remains undetermined to this day. SUDC research has shown that many of the families that have lost a child this way have a history of febrile seizures. Another possibility is a cardiac arrythmia such as long QT sydrome which has been found genetically in a few kids in the study, but cost over $5000 to test for. Our family has had a gamut of ekgs's, echocardiograms, sleep studies, labs, etc.everything has been reassuring although there are some arrythmias in the family but not long QT syndrome. The youngest son William does have sleep apnea and asthma.

My husband found him early that cold winter Saturday morning in his crib. He appeared to be sleeping, but was purple. He picked him up, called 911, and started CPR. But it was too late. Our world had stopped. He died sometime in the middle of the night, between 12am-2am ,the firemen and coroner said. Junior had a speech delay , so if he was feeling sick the night before he was not able to tell us. Even when he was sick, he would not appear to be. He loved to play so much, nothing would stop him.

Junior was the most gentle, happy-go-lucky, big hearted person to ever come into our lives. He brought our family together with his impending birthmy fiance and I decided to move up the wedding and got married 2 months after learning we were expecting. He was a complete suprise pregnancy, and just so happened he was due Christmas day! I was induced a week early for high blood pressure, and he weighed in at 7 pounds and 19 inches. But don't let the average birth weight fool you, he soon grew into quite a chunk! By 4 months old he weighed 16 pounds, 20 pounds at 6 months, and 30 pounds by 1 year! He was 38 pounds when he died at age 2, and 39 inches talloff the growth charts! His height was estimated to be 6'6" as an adult, like his Norwegian cousins and uncles. He was a beautiful multiracial blend of African-American, German, Norwegian, Polish, and Ukrainian.

Junior must have known his time was short and to make the most of it, because he was so happy and loving to everyone. He made complete strangers beam with his huge, bright dark eyes, charm, and chubby cheeks. He ran up to other little children and hugged and kissed them. He threw his arms around me when I was dealing with his colicky baby brother and was stressed, he sensed it. He would stroke my hair softly and press his head against my shoulder. He had a charisma about him that made him seem wiser than his years and made you feel loved and cared for. He was so gentle and caring to his baby brother, Eric, who was only 4 months old when Junior died. Junior would always want to help in any way he could, he was a people pleaser. He washed dishes, swept and vaccumed floors, even cooked alongside me!

Not knowing how Junior died is very emotionally traumatic. I hope and pray that the SUDC researchers find a pattern and identify what killed these sweet innocent children who had thier whole lives ahead of them! Research is limited by money as it is only privately funded based on donations, there are no government grants for research on SUDC like there are for SIDS. I know Junior is in heaven and we will be reunited with him one day thanks to Jesus, but life without him is miserable. Nothing takes the pain away of losing a child, it is truly the worst loss. My uncle and brother died within the same year after Junior, too. But they had the chance to lead a full, happy life while I feel we were stripped of seeing what would be Junior's potential. God had other plans for Junior, I know, but that does not take the hurt of losing him unexpectedly.

We were blessed with a new addtition to the family, William John Franklyn, on 9/5/2008. He was the exact same size as Junior7 pounds and 19 inches. He also quickly grew into a big boy toohe was 28 pounds by age 1 and at age 2 is 38 pounds and 38 inches tall! He reminds us so much of Junior with his easygoing, sweet personality and charm.

Now I am so cautious with my 2 boys, I monitor them during sleep with a video and a motion detector in the mattress shhould they stop breathing. I constantly wash thier hands.They sleep in the same room as us parents and will do so for a long time!

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Biography

Fathers Name:	John
Mothers Name:	Sara
Siblings Names:	Eric, William
Country of Birth:	USA
Country of Residence:	USA
City of Residence:	Aurora
Religion:	Other Christian

Interests

Favourite Book:	Winnie the Pooh Everyday
Favourite Movie:	Teletubbies
Favourite Music Genre:	Pop

Passing

Place of Passing:	home in his bedroom
Date of Passing:	20 January 2007
Cause of Passing:	Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood
Place of Burial:	Fairmount Cemetery Denver, Colorado
Funeral Director:	Father Scott Jenkins
Funeral Location:	Church of the Holy Family
Funeral Date:	26 January 2007