The parents of little 8-month-old Indi Gregory laid her to rest today in a funeral service with family, friends, and supporters.
Last month, Indi died has after a British hospital yanked her life support over her parents’ objections and after a court rejected their plea to let her live.
During the ceremony, father Dean Gregory called Indi his “beautiful warrior” and said he finds comfort in knowing that she’s in Heaven.
“But, my greatest comfort at this difficult time is knowing where Indi is and with whom she is with now. I had Indi baptized to protect her and so she would go to heaven. It gives me peace to know she is in Heaven and God is taking care of her,” Gregory said.
Here’s more on today’s ceremony:
Before a service led by the Bishop of Nottingham, Reverend Patrick McKinney, at Nottingham Cathedral on Friday (December 1), Indi’s white coffin, adorned with pink and white flowers, was carried through the city’s streets in a horse-drawn carriage. A procession of eight Rolls-Royce cars transported Indi’s family behind the carriage.
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Inside the cathedral, over 100 people, including a delegation from the Italian government, gathered for the 10.15am service. The ceremony featured a choir and organ music. During the service, a tribute was read by Canon Paul Newman on behalf of Mr Gregory, describing Indi as a “true warrior.”
He said: “I honestly and truly feel, deep in my heart, that Indi was not only beautiful, strong and unique. I just knew, from the start, she was very special. Nonetheless, I could never have imagined the sort of journey we and Indi would have to go through to fight for her life.
“She didn’t only have to battle against her health problems, she had to battle against a system that makes it almost impossible to win. Yet, it was her weakest point, her health problems, that distinguished Indi as a true warrior.
“Indi overcame so much: she had seizures, two operations, sepsis, e-coli, including other infections, that even another child would struggle to beat. But Indi’s determination to fight for a chance of life really inspired me.
“The strength she had for an eight-month-old child was incredible. And this is one of the reasons I would have done anything for Indi to have the chance to live which was denied her.”
Before her death, a UK appeals court ruled that a hospital can proceed with ending Indi’s lifesaving medical care despite her parents desperate efforts to get her to a hospital that would provide it. The hospital removed her life support yesterday and Indi died this morning.
The 8-month-old Gregory died in her mother’s arms in a hospice at 1:45 a.m. on Nov. 13, according to British advocacy group Christian Concern.
After her death, Indi’s parents said they “are angry, heartbroken and ashamed. The NHS and the Courts not only took away her chance to live a longer life, but they also took away Indi’s dignity to pass away in the family home where she belonged.”
Indi suffered from a rare degenerative mitochondrial disease. She had been receiving life-sustaining treatment on a ventilator at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, England.
As LifeNews had reported, a Vatican hospital had stepped up and agreed to provide care for 8-month-old baby Indi Gregory, where a British court ruled her life support could be revoked even though her parents are fighting for her life. But, that was not enough for the parents of this little girl to get a British appellate court to rule in their favor.
Indi’s parents got her baptized after a UK appeals court ruled a hospital could yank her life support without their consent.
After that decision, Indi’s parents, who are not religious, have decided to get their daughter baptized, saying they have seen the “pull of hell” in this entire spectacle with the courts denying their daughter the care she needs and blocking their efforts to transport Indi to an Italian hospital for appropriate care and treatment.
“When I was in the court, I felt as if Hell pulled at me,” said Dean Gregory, Indi’s dad. “I thought that if Hell exists, then Heaven must exist too.”
“It was like the devil was there,” he told an Italian newspaper. “I thought that if the devil exists, then God must exist too.”
“I have seen what hell is like and I want Indi to go to heaven.”
In fact, Dean says that he’s decided he should also be baptized. “We want to be protected in this life, and go to heaven.”
Dean praised the testimony of a Christian volunteer who has visited Indi every day, and who told him that baptism “opens Heaven’s gates.” He also noted the work of his legal team provided by the Christian Legal Centre.
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