Our daughter, Kelly Lynn, was born on July 12, 1993. She was an angel from the beginning. Kelly had beautiful blonde hair and warm hazel eyes. Her dad always called her his "Special Angel" and she was my "Pumpkin". Kelly's life started on a small 5-acre farm, with her first horseback ride at the age of 4 days. Shortly after Kelly's first birthday, we found out we would be blessed with another child. April 1, 1995 (John) Andrew was born. They were both very sociable and well-rounded kids. Kelly participated in the Leeps and Bounds (A Preschool program). An activity she liked a lot, was sign language. Kelly had learned 40 signs. She was also a very crafty child. It was hard to throw a hard container away, because she wanted to make something out of it. One day an empty box of Kleenex became a beautiful birthday cake, with beads and straws for candles, for her dolly's birthday. Kelly enjoyed gardening, planting flowers and sunflowers with Mom, and planing vegetable gardens with Dad.
Tragedy struck our home on a beautiful summer afternoon on August 15, 1998. Kelly had a horrible accident while riding her pony, Buddy. There was not one tear in her eye. In my arms, Kelly looks at me and said, "Mama". I said, "Mommy's here, honey, I love you...it will be okay," as butterflies closed her eyes and she became God's "Special Angel." Kelly was rushed to our local hospital by ambulance, with a Chaplain waiting. After a series of tests, we were informed she was to be airlifted to the University of Chicago, where neuro-surgeons were available. As we watched the helicopter leave, our hearts were lost. We frantically drove to the university. When we arrived, we were informed to our disbelief that our baby was dead. Kelly had suffered major head and internal injuries. There was nothing they could do. Kelly was pronounced brain dead on August 16, 1998 at 7:05 am.
At the time of Kelly's death, we were faced with a lot and with many decisions to make. Could we consent to have Kelly become a donor? Several questions arose again. Not realizing that when disconnecting the life support machines, Kelly would no longer become a donor. I wanted her to die in my arms, and in reality she had died in my arms at home. Could we leave our baby while the machines kept her breathing to support someone else, until the operation was started and over? Which organs were we comfortable with, which ones were we not? Was she going to be in pain? Who was going to watch her to make sure she was safe? How would we feel to meet our recipient families? How would we feel if we did not? Could we handle the sadness if a transplant was not successful? We felt Andrew is so young, what if he would ever need an organ, could we let ourselves be stingy at this time? But mostly, Kelly was such a giving person, we knew she would want to give her final most precious gifts. We had to try.
Kelly is buried at a cemetery close to our home, appropriately named "Angel Crest." We visit her almost daily. Her monument is beautiful with recreations from a drawing she drew hours before the accident. A smiling sun and sunflowers with a heart above her personal signature, "Kelly."
Kelly's life does live on...she lives on through her recipients. She is truly our "Special Angel" and our "Hero". We are by no means sorrowful or regretful for any of the decisions we made. We were blessed with a beautiful, loving and cheerful little girl for five wonderful years. Our recipients have been blessed by her death.
Dear Joanne:
Thank you for hosting such a beautiful site. I try to catch a glimpse of it daily. I have ordered several books from the book center, Including "Dear Cheyenne". It is a very touching book. I keep it in my briefcase and refer to it a lot and pass information on to others when I can. All this information has comforted me so much since the loss of my daughter Kelly, on August 16, 1998. Kelly died in my arms due to massive head and internal injuries she sustained while riding her pony. Kelly had just turned 5 years old in July. We do miss her terribly. Kelly was also an organ donor. We know of three individuals that are alive today, because of her precious gifts. Kelly is truly our Special Angel and our Hero. We are working on a memorial website for Kelly. We want to portray a nice site of a beautiful child, with the promotion of the importance of organ donations.
I love the "Random Acts of Kindness" cards...such a nice idea, so I wanted to send you a seed packet. I made these packets for all the children at Kelly's daycare, for a memorial service dedication they had last summer. Everyone enjoyed having something of Kelly's and I hoped they would bring a smile to a child's face. A little history of the packets. The seeds are from sunflowers Kelly had planted in her garden and around our small farm. We have since planted more seeds and had a great harvest for our packets. The sunflower on the front, the heart and her signature are taken from a drawing she did hours before her accident. "May friendships always blossom" a saying I thought Kelly would like, because of her passion for people and gardening. It is also on a brass plaque with her picture at daycare. The poem "Put my Memory in Your Pocket" we had on the memorial cards at Kelly's funeral. This poem I have kept for years, it is the poem they had for my best friend Lynn's funeral in 1985. Kelly is actually Kelly Lynn after her.
Please find enclosed a monetary donation, for where ever it is needed. I have found so much information from your site, sometimes it is what gets me through the day. I have forwarded your site to the University of Chicago Hospital, to the bereavement and memorial unit. Also, if you would like additional seed packets, for yourself or someone in need, please let me know.
With care and thanks,
Laura Wallisa - Kelly's mom
