may 2012
CityLight.org
5
L
ola Mckenzie Looney, my precious 2 year
old granddaughter, born July 18, 2007 was
beaten and killed by her mother's boyfriend. She
died the evening of October 12, 2009 at Palmet-
to Richland Hospital after being taken off life-
support. She was so perfect, so beautiful, and so
defenseless. I met and said goodbye to my beauti-
ful granddaughter all on the same day. I thought
I had time and waited patiently for the right mo-
ment, for permission to meet her. It has been 2
and a half years since her death. Time has healed
my heart somewhat but some days my grief and
my pain are almost unbearable.
It was a rainy Monday morning and I waited
for the phone to
ring. I waited for
confirmation that
the 2 year old
in the News the
night before was
indeed Lola. On
Sunday night at
around 10:45, I
was getting ready
for bed. A News
flash stating that
a 2 year was in
critical condition
at a local hospital
came across the
television. Imme-
diately I knew it
was Lola. A feeling dropped into my spirit like a
ton of bricks. I almost fell to my knees. I reached
for my phone to call my son but decided to wait.
I wanted to pray but couldn't. I wanted to cry out
but couldn't cry out. At that moment I knew she
was gone. God would not let me pray for her life
because her spirit was already resting in His arms.
The next morning I went about my day, still
waiting for the call. After taking my younger
children to school, I went to work. The office
was buzzing about the 2 year old that had been
abused and in critical condition. Two men in
the office next to mine were talking about the
tragedy. One said, sports like football causes
young boys to grow up to be violent and that
causes them to commit child abuse and other
violent crimes. Several people in the office had
their opinions of what they thought happened.
They made comments about the mother and
commented about the father. If they only knew
that this precious little girl was my granddaugh-
ter, what would they have said? Would they have
altered their opinions? Would they have contin-
ued to make their harsh assumptions?
At about 9:00 am, I received the call from
my son informing me of what I already knew
about Lola. He
was hysterically
crying in my ear.
"She is on life
support. Mom
there is no brain
activity and she's
not breathing on
her own. They
killed her. They
killed her. That
girl, that dude,
they killed her."
I said, "Please try
to calm down.
It's raining and
you are driving,
be careful! Come
meet me here or I'll meet you at my house." I
knew Lola was gone.
He was angry, very angry, hurt and wanted to
hurt someone. He was devastated. The grief of
losing his daughter was inconsolable. I let him
talk. I listened, then said, "I need to go to the
hospital." He said, " no I don't want you to see
her that way." I explained to him, "if I don't
see her today, I may never see her." I prayed
Lord, "how do I grieve when I have to help
Continued on pg 14
Choosing to Forgive, Never to Forget
"A Grandmother's Secret Cry"
by: Luella Redfern