In loving memory

Our son, Caleb Rogelio Ward, was born on Tuesday, October 14, 2009 at 5:09 pm (Virtua Hospital, Voorhees, NJ) and died on Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 10:32 pm (CHOP - The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia). Caleb was our “baby boy” & Ashley and Donovyn’s “little brother.”


Caleb was here with us for an amazing 40 days.  He stayed at three hospitals: Virtua Hospital, The Hospital of University of Pennsylvania (HUP), & CHOP.  He lived at CHOP from October 22nd until his death.  Each of our hearts has been touched, and lives impacted forever after spending time with our child.  We understand Caleb’s arrival was earlier than expected, but right on time, according to the Word of God.  (Jeremiah 1:5)
Since he arrived early at 26 weeks, we didn’t have a name ready upon his delivery. With the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we were lead unknowingly to pick the biblical name Caleb which means “faith, devotion, & wholehearted.”


We chose “Rogelio” because it’s his grandfather’s first name. He’s the first male grandchild in the Polutan family. “Rogelio” also has a strong meaning, “famous spearman.” Caleb Rogelio Ward is our faithful soldier and a reflection of our faith in love for God.


On Saturday, November 21st, Caleb was held for the first time.  We were so happy to have him out of the isolate and in our arms. We took in every moment:  April cried of joy, James read him his first storybook, “I am somebody” and his Lola  (Grandmother) Aurora sang “Usahay” and changed the lyrics from “My Girl to My Boy” and his Lolo (Grandfather) Roger photographed our last few precious moments. His big sister, Ashley, hugged him and touched his “stinky feet.”  She even got to hold him while sitting in her dad’s lap.  We even got to do our signature hand on top hand family huddle, saying “1, 2, 3... Family Yeah!!!”


On Sunday, November 22nd, we wanted Caleb to leave CHOP by physically go home with us, but God had other plans for our son.  Caleb taught us more than any adult could ever.  He has filled our hearts with courage, strengthened our  faith in God, bonded our family with a greater love like never before, cast out any fear in our future departure, re-examined our life and devotion unto God; in other words, what have we done to glorify God lately and how will we be a blessing in someone else’s life.


We urge you to go and hug your child for us, kiss them on the head and tell them, “I Love You.”  We believe we have peace with Caleb’s departure.  God will give you the courage too by allowing you to love one another and forgive others to create peace in your life.  In the spirit of this special Thanksgiving weekend, we want to say, “Thank you Caleb for blessing us with your presence.  Hugs and kisses to the rest of the family in heaven! We love you and miss you!”