STL fan in MN
Registered User
- Aug 16, 2007
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My wife saw me looking at my phone yesterday and asked what was wrong. I told her she could read the article once I was done and that she’d likely start crying too. She did.
We of course never met little Ari but she really touched our hearts. There’s just something about that girl. Such a fighter and amazingly positive through it all. She suffered through it for 8 years. She was 11. Think about that for a second.
I usually don’t share much personal stuff but I will here. When our now 1 1/2 year old was born, we ended up in NICU for 4 days. A little while later, we were back in PICU. First off, our boy is just fine. In retrospect, all incredibly minor stuff. Minor complications during the delivery and he was just in NICU/PICU because you have to be cautious when they’re that young. But for the first couple days of NICU, we were pretty scared, overwhelmed and “woe is me.”
Then I started talking to some other parents in the break room. Our problems were nothing. It really put things in perspective. Preemes, babies that needed heart transplants, etc. The toughest was when I talked to a mom one day. She didn’t give a lot of details but they’d been there a while and it didn’t sound like they’d be leaving anytime soon. Two days later, that little boy’s room was empty. I didn’t ask but given the little I knew, I doubt there was a miraculous recovery. Just very sad.
PICU was even more heartbreaking. It was the kids with cancer that really got to me. Cancer took my dad when he was 45. Way too young. But here were 5 year olds, 10 year olds, TWO YEAR OLDS! that had cancer. So incredibly unfair.
It’s easy to take things for granted sometimes but what those kids and Ari have taught me is to not take life for granted. Nothing is guaranteed and we are not in control. At the same time though, don’t live in fear. Fear and worry lead to absolutely nothing good. Just live your life to the fullest, appreciate what you have and let your light shine. Probably something we’ve all heard many times and brushed off but sometimes it takes situations like this to really knock us over the head for it to really sink in.
I’m glad Ari has finally found peace and isn’t in pain anymore. I sincerely hope and pray her parents, friends, family and all of the thousands of folks she touched can find some peace and solace too. She was an awesome kid. Let’s let her light continue to shine in all of us.
We of course never met little Ari but she really touched our hearts. There’s just something about that girl. Such a fighter and amazingly positive through it all. She suffered through it for 8 years. She was 11. Think about that for a second.
I usually don’t share much personal stuff but I will here. When our now 1 1/2 year old was born, we ended up in NICU for 4 days. A little while later, we were back in PICU. First off, our boy is just fine. In retrospect, all incredibly minor stuff. Minor complications during the delivery and he was just in NICU/PICU because you have to be cautious when they’re that young. But for the first couple days of NICU, we were pretty scared, overwhelmed and “woe is me.”
Then I started talking to some other parents in the break room. Our problems were nothing. It really put things in perspective. Preemes, babies that needed heart transplants, etc. The toughest was when I talked to a mom one day. She didn’t give a lot of details but they’d been there a while and it didn’t sound like they’d be leaving anytime soon. Two days later, that little boy’s room was empty. I didn’t ask but given the little I knew, I doubt there was a miraculous recovery. Just very sad.
PICU was even more heartbreaking. It was the kids with cancer that really got to me. Cancer took my dad when he was 45. Way too young. But here were 5 year olds, 10 year olds, TWO YEAR OLDS! that had cancer. So incredibly unfair.
It’s easy to take things for granted sometimes but what those kids and Ari have taught me is to not take life for granted. Nothing is guaranteed and we are not in control. At the same time though, don’t live in fear. Fear and worry lead to absolutely nothing good. Just live your life to the fullest, appreciate what you have and let your light shine. Probably something we’ve all heard many times and brushed off but sometimes it takes situations like this to really knock us over the head for it to really sink in.
I’m glad Ari has finally found peace and isn’t in pain anymore. I sincerely hope and pray her parents, friends, family and all of the thousands of folks she touched can find some peace and solace too. She was an awesome kid. Let’s let her light continue to shine in all of us.
