Midi Playing: I Would Have Loved You Anyway

Around May of 1997, we could see that she was getting tired, and     she started having more colds and fevers. We took her to the doctor, and as I feared, she     was going into congestive heart failure. It was time for the surgery whether my fragile     little girl had grown enough or not. We were scheduled for June 6th, and the surgery     itself was successful. She had a seizure shortly thereafter though, that started a     horrific chain of events. Kayleigh's fragile body had gone through so much already, and     now she was facing a deep infection in the surgery site, endocarditis, and seizures we     couldn't stop. It was a Hellish five weeks, during which I battled a severe migraine and a     spinal headache after a botched spinal tap to rule out meningitis.  Around the fourth     of July, we started realizing she wasn't going to get better, and started gathering the     family. We had her baptized on the night of the 6th with her grandmothers standing in as     witnesses. It was a night I will never forget, dozing in a chair by her bedside watching     all the monitors go down. Eventually near sunrise we decided that there was nothing more     that the doctors could do for her, so we had them disconnect all the machines so we could     hold her while she flew away to Heaven.      That was the hardest decision I have ever had to make, but I know that it was for the     best. My husband and I were there with her, as well as my mother in law, our oldest son,     Sean, his mother Tracy(I am his stepmother)      and friends Brian, JIm, and Rhonda.  We all held her one last time and said goodbye.      Tracy stayed behind to bathe her one last time while I accompanied my mother in law down     to the cafeteria for breakfast. I then went back for one last goodbye in the hospital..     They had wrapped her up in a little blanket with angel teddy bears on it. I still have     that blanket.      I left the hospital and went back to the Ronald McDonald House to pack up. It was there     that I finally let myself go to the primal moans and screams that had to come out. I am     still not sure if it was a cry or a scream or a howl. Only the inhabitants of Ronald     McDonald House would know, and all of them were very respectful and let me be.      We came home that night and left my husband to finish up paperwork and pick up our friend     Jim whose  son was being discharged from the same hospital. I was very lucky to have     several friends who were with me that night so I didn't have to spend it alone. My ex     husband Len, and my friend Donna spent the night with me and made sure I got through it     okay.It pays to have good friends. They helped me put away the baby bed and things so my     husband would not have to face that when he got home.      We buried our pride and joy on July 11th 1997. It was a hot sunny day, and it was the     worst day of my life.      Kayleigh's grave is in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton Ohio, and her gravestone has a picture     of her carved into it. It is the most beautiful stone, and Woodland is a beautiful place.      The story, fortunately doesn't end there. Our family has had a lot of obstacles over the     years, and we've been through sheer hell, but we've been through it together, and we're     still going strong.

Big Sister Lindsey

Big Brother Nick

Daddy (Bo)

Mommy (Tammy)