A check would NOT be impersonal in this case, trust me.
I spent 6mo at Childrens Hospital this year... many of my friends' children didn't make it. Cash gifts were the MOST appreciated.
Why?
Headstones are 6k.
And that's not even taking into account all the HUGE living expenses that have gone by the wayside. Many people are *literally* starting over from less than scratch (having to file bankruptcy) when their children are terminally ill, or have given up their homes to be at Ronald's, or need to scrape together first/last/deposit on a new apt back "home" after giving up their apt , to moving to an apt to be close to the hosp (and living at the hosp or RMcDs). Funeral clothes, flowers, caskets or cremation... and when it's you BABY that got sick... well... not many people buy life insurance for their infants. So there's no $ for a funeral. And insurance companies won't insure sick kids.
A check, and maybe something like this:
The Cord
We are connected,
My child and I, by
An invisible cord
Not seen by the eye.
It's not like the cord
That connects us 'til birth
This cord can't been seen
By any on Earth.
This cord does it's work
Right from the start.
It binds us together
Attached to my heart.
I know that it's there
Though no one can see
The invisible cord
From my child to me.
The strength of this cord
Is hard to describe.
It can't be destroyed
It can't be denied.
It's stronger than any cord
Man could create
It withstands the test
Can hold any weight.
And though you are gone,
Though you're not here with me,
The cord is still there
But no one can see.
It pulls at my heart
I am bruised...I am sore,
But this cord is my lifeline
As never before.
I am thankful that God
Connects us this way
A mother and child
Death can't take it away!
Anonymous