For those of you who are wanting to know exactly what happened to our daughter or you already know but want to read the story again, I have included it on the following pages. I won’t say I hope you enjoy it as this story is heart wrenching and sad. However, I do hope it helps to show you why I started writing in the first place.
Mommy’s Angel In Heaven
I am so sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing your story. I will read more.
I’m heartbroken for you and your family. Ur in my prayers.
Thank you so very much.
I just read Mari’s story and it touched me so deeply. There are no words to explain how I feel for your family. You and Keith are the bravest people I know. I don’t know how I would be if this happened to my daughter. I cried through out the whole story and even made my husband and neighbors read it. I am praying for your family that you pull through this. I hope to one day meet Mari in heaven. I will also pray that she might find my two babies up there and keep them safe with her till I get to see them again one day.
Neeka, wow, your reply has brought tears to my eyes. It always touches me so much to know that my writing has touched another person. I know that Mari is up there playing with your two little ones. We will all one day be able to seem them again.
As I finished reading your beautiful daughters heroic and heart breaking story, I could not stop the flow of tears…My heart breaks for you and your family at the loss of such a beautiful child…I know and understand your pain in many ways.I pray that God hold you and your family especially close in His loving hands…May He fill your hearts with comfort and your souls with peace as only He can,.,..
HUgs,
Tami
Mom to angel Davis
Tami, thank you for taking the time to read my daughter’s story and what happened to her. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. They are truly appreciated.
Hello,
I am from Australia. I read your comment on the WillowTree website which led me to this site and your story. I just want to say thankyou for shareing it.
Wow, it amazes me sometimes how the world can be so small sometimes. thank you for your beautiful comment.
I have to say, it was heart-wrenching to read your story. You are such a strong woman to be able to document everything that happened. I have an 11 month old daughter and she is the most precious thing that has ever happened to my husband and I and I couldn’t imagine going through what you did. As I read the last page where you and your husband held her in your arms as she passed away I just balled for you. I pray that the Lord continues to give you strength and that you reach many people with your story and touch many hearts. God Bless!
Sharon, thank you for taking the time to write what you have. It means so much to me. It always amazes me when someone tells me that my writing has touched them to the point of tears as before what happened with my beautiful daughter I never would have thought I could do something like that. To know that others, whether they have lost a child or not, can relate to my writing means alot. Thank you.
heart breaking! And this was all caused from a e-coli strand?
Yes, this was all caused by e-coli. E-coli 0157:H7 to be exact. It is a very dangerous strand. We still do not know to this day where she contracted it from because due to her autism she did not eat fruits, vegetables, and meat (as this is where you typically contract it from). However, I have done some research and found that petting zoo’s and farm animals can be a place where you can contract it at. We had gone out to my husband’s sister’s farm the Thursday before she got sick (about 5 days before she started to show any signs). She was all around the animals and due to her autism she constantly put her hands in her mouth. It did not matter how closely either. I would take my eyes off her for just 30 seconds and she had climbed out my sister-in-law’s open window to get right back outside with all the animals. It is the only place we think it could have happened as no one else in the family, in her school, at her camp, or any other place we had visited during that time had contracted this E-coli. All I can say is it sucks. I miss her terrbily but someday we will be able to be reunited again in heaven. Thank you for your words.
God bless your baby girl. I hope the two of you are healing and are able to find strength in each other to continue your journey in this life. It is wonderful that you have the courage to write a book about Mari. She would be so pleased and proud of her mommy! Mari was blessed to have such beautiful parents. What a wonderful life she had!
Laura, thank you for your heartflet comments. They mean the world to me. My husband and I are doing good. I am working now and we have taken custody of our niece and nephew. They have been such a blessing in our lives. Our daughter Mari will always be missed and I wish she was still with us everyday. However, since she can’t be it is good to have these two beautiful children in our lives. Mari’s death created a hole that will never be able to be filled but with these two kids they have helped to fill that hold back in some just in that it helps us to not always think of her all the time. Our mind are able to focus on more positive things in life. I still miss her terribly but I think that is to be expected. Again thank you for your comments. They mean the world to me.
Wow, my heart aches for you and your family. I have no words that could adequately express how sorry I am that you lost your daughter. Thank you for sharing your story. You are all in my prayer.
Blessing,
Kym
Kym, thank you for your heartfelt words. For me sharing our daughter’s story helps me to know she continues to live on through our memories. I will always miss her but I couldn’t imagine it any other way. God works in mysterious ways and has shown me that through such a terrible tragedy that I could find something beautiful out of it through my writing.
My English is not very good, I’m better reading it than writing it, but I read every word and I cried making it, I’m sorry, I feel their loss, because as a mother can not imagine the pain of the loss of my daughters.
God give you strength to go ahead and accept this painful conformity of loss and may God bless the beautiful Mari sitting next to him, as the beautiful angel of light it is.
you are loved and brave parents who love their daughter and she loved forever and you lived and fought with her until the end.
You and she will always be in my prayers
God bless you.
Hello Dianelys, Your english is good enough for me. I understand you just fine. Thank you for the beautiful words you wrote. They mean a lot.
I’m still crying as I try to process your story. Thank you for sharing it. I clicked over from ACFW/Facebook after I liked your page. I’m glad you are able to heal through writing. My daughter was born 2 years before Mari with seizures, but her last one was age 5. She is now 14 and just had a seizure 2 weeks ago. She fell on the track at school, bruised and scraped her knees, hands, elbows, shoulders and hip. They took her by ambulance to the hospital. They did a CT. Next week she has an EEG and the week after an MRI as they try to figure out what is causing it after 10 years. As I was reading your story, it gave me chills, reminded me of all of Celina’s hospital tests during her 3 1/2 weeks when she was born. My hubby also stayed at the Ronald McDonald House. They are such a blessing! I’m so sorry for your loss and will be praying and thinking of you and Keith. I hope the best for your writing, as well. God bless you.
Jennifer, thank you so very much for your kinds words. We seem to have a few things in common. It is comments like yours that tell me I am write in making her story into a book. I had the first draft complete but have realized that it is not right and need to start completely over. Now I just need to find a good Christian group or a few people who would be will to help me critique it so I can make it the best I can make it. I know it is God’s hands and it will be just the way it needs to be when it finally gets published. Thank you again for your kinds words. They mean the world to me.
I am amazed how God works in special ways! I landed here on your page on July 1, 2012 – four years after your first journal entry about Mari. I had been researching how to give back to families through photography and came upon your story of your beautiful angel. I just spent the last hour reading your story and believe that it was because God wanted me to learn from your family. I was truly moved and touched by what you went through. Having a baby that had a NICU stay helped me to relate to you, but I can never fully wrap my mind around your experience. What I learned tonight is that I need to slow down and appreciate the time that I have with my children…hug them tight….tell them I love them….and live fully each day. I would love to use the gift I have been given to touch the lives of parents who need something to hold onto and remember their angel. Thanks again for sharing! Mari is with you each and every day.
Rhonda, all I can say is thank you. You have no idea how much your words have meant to me of all night but tonight. I have been struggling as I start to write my daughter’s book. I am taking her hospital story and creating a full length book as I know how her story has stouch so many people’s lives already. I was on the phone with a friend telling her my struggle and crying as you noticed that four years ago today started the journey we went on. I miss my daughter ever so much. And then your comment came in while I was on the phone with her. Your words have touched my heart so much. They affirmed for me that I am doing the right thing as I restart this writing journey and share her story in a broad, more indepth way. So I say thank you again as your words have touched my heart.
I hope that as the days pass and turn into years, that your smiles replace what used to be tears! Let the words flow, let your heart tell your story of Mari. In the end it will be genuine, heartfelt, authentic, emotionally raw, and endearing. You can do it!! <3
Rhonda, thank you so very much. That means the world to me.
I know that there are some things that we will not understand till we reach heaven,and I was so blessed while balling through your entire story. All I know is that “all things do work together for the good” and one day God will let us know just how. However, your strength and courage along with your husbands, will touch many hearts as it did those of us on this page. It certainly touched mine. I had a miscarriage at almost 5 months and had to come home and tell my other 3 children, as i watched their hearts break into. Then, my promised daughter had a seizure the evening I brought her home from the hospital and was ambulanced back to the NICU, I cried so hard as they ran CT scans, MRI’s and other tests to find out what was wrong. They never did find out why. She was released a week later with meds, that I eventually weaned her off of myself and never had another one. We were pastors at the time and our church carried us through both of those critical times. Thank God for family and friends. She is now 13 and at her young age is worship leader for her youth group. You and your honey are now on my prayer list. I pray God blesses you beyond your comprehension in the years to come. I too, look forward to seeing your precious one in heaven and maybe the one I lost can meet her too, as we believe it was a girl. God bless you, precious woman of God. Keep writing as so many will be touched because of it.
Melba
Melba, please forgive me for not replying before today. It seems things in life can alwaysinterfere with things you either want or need to do. Your heartfelt comment really touched my heart. I know it is because of comments just like yours that I continue to write on here and share my continued life long journey. Comments like yours touch my heart so deep.
I feel so blessed to know God has given me this gift that when I write, it somehow has the ability to touch others.
Kristena I have been thinking about you and I still have the PowerPoint assignment we had to do for class with those beautiful pictures of the 3 of you. I remember the phone conversation we had right after Mari passed away and what happened at her funeral. I cannot imagine what pain that put you through. As I read the 16 last days of Mari’s life and how you held your daughter as did Keith as she slipped away made me cry so hard as you held on to her hoping that the pulse beat in her neck would keep on beating and bring her back, is how I would feel, and then it stopped as you watch touched me deep inside.
God has given you and I a chance to have our wombs opened once and gave us beautiful daughters and that makes us Blessed. You were a great mommy and God gave you 8-1/2 years with a precious beautiful baby girl that he knew had a blemish and took her back to his home to re-make her an “Angel” with no more pain and suffering, which is very hard for us mortals to understand, as Mari said at the end of her video, which will remain with me for the rest of my life as it touched my heart forever. Your story was heart-wretching and is beautifully and lovingly well done. You endured a lot as you told every detail the last 16 days of little Mariana’s life.
Shari
Shari, thank you for your heartfelt words. Mari will always be missed. Her memory will continue on through her dedicaiton site. I’m very thankful I wrote those sixteen days out as they will be used to help make her book come a reality.
I came today to again read and look at your beautiful daughter, Mariana. Her photos, and again I read the story and all the beautiful things that people have written to you. It is hard to believe it is almost 7 years that she is in Heaven, Art, Music, dancing in the sky, and singing in the Angels’ Choir, adventures, invention and happy as she looks down on you as the greatest parents who were always there for her. You and Keith are in my prayers and thoughts more than you can ever know.
I have shared Mari’s story with a personal friend who is the parent of an autistic son; who says it is a long hard road to travel, but would do it all again, as a Christian man.
I want to also tell you that I enjoy reading everything you write as your writing is powerful and touches me greatly. I am going to be graduating July 6, 2014, from Everest University online with a Bachelor’s Degree in Paralegal Studies. It is because of you that I kept going after acquiring my Associates Degree. Thank you so much.
I love hearing from you so please keep in touch. Love you, my Sister in Christ
Shari
I have a FACEBOOK page where you can write to me, too.
Oh my goodness Shari, it’s been so long. I still remember our days attending Kaplan together.
I feel blessed to know you follow what I write. I’m always amazed how my writing can touch someone else in such a way like you said I have. It’s humbling yet a blessing all wrapped up into one.
I’ve been writing a memoir about my daughter and what happened. I used “Her Hospital Story” as part of my notes to make it the best I can. If you’d like to be a beta reader, please use the contact form on this site. I don’t like giving out my email address as people start to spam it then. You can find me on Facebook too. Send me a friend request. I miss talking to ya.
I read your story with many tears. I’m at a loss for words. It seems too much sorrow for a heart to bear to lose a child. I’ll remember to shower the children in my life with many kisses and hugs. They’re precious. God bless you abundantly.
Reni, you are so right. children are so precious. Thank you for your kind words.
I wept for you when I read your blog. My precious daughter died in my arms on the 18th of January this year. There can be no greater pain than the pain of losing a child. I don’t have words of comfort for you. I am so sorry.
Tersia, tears have come to my eyes as I read your comment. To know you went through the very same thing I have mean we understand each others pain. Know I’m thinking of you and you are right. There is no greater pain than the loss of a child. Thank you for sharing and leaving a comment.
I just read the hospital story of your daughter. I am writing this with tears streaming down my face. What a beautiful love story. Thank you for sharing your heartache because it has touched me and I am sure others. God bless you and all those who loved Mari!
Ronni, Thank you for your heart felt words. I’m always so blessed when I receive a comment like yours because it reassures me that her story has the power to touch other people’s lives.
I am not sure how I came across your blog, but as a mother of 2 young daughters – it was hard not to imagine all the pain. I read each day of your hospital diary – and felt such a heavy heart. I will hug my girls tighter tonight, and I wish for you comfort along your journey without Mari. I am sure she is with you and watching you – and some day will be returned to your arms. My deepest condolences for what you and your husband went through. I cried through every page. 🙁
Oh wow, Lee, you just brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for your heartfelt words. They’ve touched me a lot. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know just how much me sharing my daughter’s hospital story has touched you. It means a lot. Kristena.