|
Our beautiful Sophie was born at 4:23 a.m. on July 4, 2003, in
Cincinnati, OH. Labor was not easy...23 hours with 2 ½ hours of
pushing, but Sophie was perfect in every way. She spent the first 30
minutes of life not crying, but looking around and taking everything
in. We remember our first night in the hospital together, hearing
fireworks outside, and thinking how neat it would be for Sophie to
have fireworks on each of her birthdays for the rest of her life.
Sophie was the first for everyone. She was our first child and was
the first grandchild. She brought so much joy to so many people. For
us, our lives changed forever the day she was born. We knew we were
going to dedicate every waking hour to ensure Sophie had the
absolute best environment in which to grow, learn, and flourish.
For Sophie’s grandparents, Sophie was someone they could spoil and
love all over again. She loved playing and swimming at “Grandpa’s
cottage.” She loved the countless care packages Grandma sent in the
mail. She loved messing up Papa’s hair and playing dishes with Nana.
Sophie was always a special kid. We know all parents think their
child is special, but Sophie was different. She reached all the
usual milestones before or on time. By ten months she was sitting
still, listening to long stories and then was able to identify all
the objects in the stories. By one year, she could identify all
shapes, including pentagon, hexagon, and octagon. Once she learned
how to walk and communicate, we learned how sweet, kind, and smart
she really was. At 18 months, she knew all her letters and could say
and spell her name. At 2, she knew her colors, including khaki, chartreuse, and turquoise. Her vocabulary was so advanced;
she described her first sledding experience at age 2 ½ as a “total disaster.” Words and expressions, such as “probably,” “actually,”
“you have two options,” “you decide,” “I love you unconditionally,” were part of her daily conversation. Her manners and behaviors were so adult-like.
“Yes, please,” “No, thank you,” and “May I be excused?” were commonplace and uttered with sincerity. She was never the type of kid to hit or hurt others.
She learned the concept of sharing quite easily, and never went through the “terrible twos.” We could go on and on bragging (we usually don’t,
but figured now is the time). We always thought that she would make a difference in this world. With the exception of a few colds, and a couple earaches,
she was a healthy daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, god-daughter, niece and friend until February 21, 2007.
February 21, 2007 would be the day that our lives would change forever. It was the day that our smart, kind, loving, and precious Sophie was
diagnosed with a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma – a malignant brain tumor. This type of tumor is located in the brainstem, at the base of the brain.
It is diagnosed primarily in children, and is the rarest and worst of pediatric brain tumors. There are approximately 150 to 200 kids diagnosed each year,
and survival time is typically 9 to 12 months following diagnosis. Page 1 |
Page 2 | Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5
Next >> |
