The May family issued a statement Thursday following the passing of their son, Isaiah James May.

It reads:

On October 24th, 2009, our beautiful son, Isaiah James May, arrived into the world and into our lives.

As all parents, we had looked forward to this moment with great anticipation.

And notwithstanding the events surrounding his birth, we held out hope that there would come a time when we might see his smile and hear his laugh.

Over these last four months, we have cherished every moment with our son. We have marvelled at the perfection of his hands and feet and face...at the color of his eyes and the shade of his hair. We have wondered who he most resembled.

All along it was our hope that Isaiah's condition would brighten and improve. It has not. The decision that has now been made may be incomprehensible. But it has been made knowing that we did everything possible to find meaningful answers to our questions and that all reasonable alternatives were fully explored and carefully considered.

In the dire circumstances of Isaiah's condition, who is to say whether a long or a short life would offer and assure our son greater dignity.

We very much believe that life is a gift from God and that our son's inherent value and worth as a human being is not diminished by the number of days recorded in this world.

Isaiah has reminded all of us once again that life is very precious and fragile. Isaiah has been a blessing to us and his spirit will always be in our hearts. We will never forget the miracle of his birth, the Christmas spent together -- and the early spring day when we said our goodbyes.

We will always cherish our son and the gift of time with him.

We thank everyone at the Stollery Children's Hospital for their care and dedication in sustaining Isaiah's life with dignity. For this, we always be deeply grateful.

Thank you to all who have listened to our story and supported our family. The expressions of love and compassion for our son received from thousands of people around the world helped sustain us in our darkest hours.

Finally, we wish to acknowledge the wisdom, guidance, and generosity of Dr. Richard Taylor, Dr. Marty McCaffrey and our lawyer, Rosanna Saccomani. There are no words to express our deep appreciation to you.

We have set our tiny miracle free and he is now home in the arms of angels.