A few updates....
In Memory of Victoria...In Sept, I donated 100 Tori's Teddies to QFAD for cancer care kits that were distributed to cancer peds patients over SC. In Dec, I donated 70 Tori's Teddies to QFAD which were distributed to kids in Greenville Hospital. In Feb, I sent 40 Victoria's Valentines (stuffed hugging hippos with mylar balloon) to kids taking chemo in the Rainbow room (chemo) at Duke. I really enjoy donating the Tori's Teddies to cancer kids.
On a family note...We are doing okay. Time heals wounds but leaves a permanent scar. One that will never go away. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of my precious daughter. I can hear her voice and in some situations, her joking expressions and mannerisms pop in my head just like she is still here. She was the prankster in the family. I can remember one April Fool's Day morning, she ran in the front door and up to Chris saying "Daddy you have a flat tire!". She sold it really well. That's just the way she was. She wanted everyone to get along and have fun.
For me, a lot has changed--it had to. Most of my time was spent with Victoria and with our family. I took her to dance and piano, coached her basketball and softball teams, and was there for every doctor's appt. After the diagnosis, I never missed an appointment (not that I did before hand), went back with her for every MRI and helped her through each, and occupied her through chemo. I wouldn't have had it any other way. Even before the cancer, we did a lot together. So when she entered Heaven's Gates, our family changed and so did I. My preferences changed. I preferred to stay at home rather than on the go. Now I don't shop unless I really need to (she and I shopped together), then I usually have a list. The opportunity arose for me to take a new job at the same company so I was promoted last July. Before, I didn't travel at all but since, I have been to Orlando, San Francisco, Charleston, and Columbia for either conferences, annual meetings, or training. I actually enjoy the travel. Late last year, I enrolled in the MBA program at USC and began classes January. I even have a different car. Sporting leagues have changed for Chase. This year he played Upward basketball in Walnut Grove since Woodruff didn't have a league. And he plays on an out of town travelling baseball team. The change has been good for him as well. We have so many fond memories of Victoria and with particular events, so it is good to close one book (not chapter) and begin a new one. Actually it was probably critical to our healing process.
We still have our moments and probably always will. For half of our hearts were taking away. As a parent, you can't get over the death of a child. You learn to cope with it, and the hope comes in knowing that she is looking down on us everyday. Heaven grew a lot sweeter when Victoria entered those pearly gates. I find joy and peace in knowing that one day she will greet me at the gates.
I ask that you pray for parents who have lost kids. Woodruff (town we live in) has lost 2 more kids in the last 2 months. A 6 yr old who lived less than 1/2 a mile from us was killed accidentally by a gunshot in Jan. Then a couple of weeks ago, a 4th grader who lives a mile from us passed away unexpected from an illness. And just today the missing toddler from Roebuck (about 5 miles from here) was found dead in the river. So please keep these families in your prayers.
Keeping the Faith,
The Pattersons
