This is Sierra the day she was born...Love the Yoda cheeks...
I took this picture of the kids when Sierra was 2 1/2 weeks old...just 2 days before she went into the hospital for her cath lab...Ashlynn is 16 mon and Skyler is 2 1/2 in this picture...
I took this picture of Sierra right after she came back from open heart surgery...
Here she is in her Cattitude hat...you can see she is peeking at me through those puffy little eyelids...
For those of you who don't know Sierra's story here is a short version...
Sierra was born with a small heart mummer that the doctors thought would go away...at 2 weeks she was rechecked and it was still there so we were sent to a cardiologist...they did a few test and found a few minor problems and 1 major problem with her heart...they told us they could fix the problem in a cath lab...so to the hospital we went on her 3 week birthday for what we thought would be a 1 night stay...they were unable to fix her heart in cath lab so the next step was open heart surgery...the surgery went well but Sierra's body didn't react well to it...her kidneys shut down right away so she was put on dialysis....her liver started to fail...she had to have lines cut down...and crashed a few times...and lots more things that are hard to explain...on her 8 week birthday she passed away...
I know you see this picture a lot but it is my fav!!!
Sierra Elizabeth Pixler
June 8th, 2003- Aug 3rd, 2003
9 comments:
What a beautiful tribute Karen. It always gives me a special smile to know that I help that precious angel in my arms when you brought her into the doctors office. She was so beautiful and squishy to hold. Like I said, what a beautiful tribute.
we stopped by today to say hello to Sierra. Hope your day was okay. 5 years is a big milestone as i found out from Sara at the support group last Tuesday. You've been in my thoughts all day.
Love ya!
Karen, You are an awesome sister and I am blessed. Your spirit is so strong. WOW 5 years! I am sending you a big hug can you feel it..... good. Love you....JULIE
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You are incredibly strong and brave. I thought that as I sat in the hospital with you and I think that now. She is beautiful girl and you are lucky to have her in your family. Thanks for sharing!
WOW 5 years I can't hardly believe it. Yeah no fair making me cry. You know I always think about how great of an impact that Sierra had on all of us(in diffrent ways of course)and all the things that I learned from her in such a short amount of time. I loved to hold her when she would curl up into a little ball and snuggle right up. Alison used to do that too and it always reminded me of Baby Siea!:-) Love you and miss you.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY sweet, sweet little Sierra. I know that she had something to do with Ryan and Emma coming into this world as my children! Only a few weeks apart I just know Sierra had a special hand in it all :)
Oh, and no fair making me cry!
Karen, Sierra actually had a big impact on me as well. I was so overcome with emotion at the funeral that it was humiliating. For me, it was about putting things in perspective. About seeing the big picture, realizing what matters in life, and what doesn't.
And I remember being amazed at how strong you were during the funeral; able to greet and hug everyone who came. It was such a HUGE thing for me to see the strength and depth of your faith. (I am a person whose testimony does not come easily). Sierra's little life had SUCH an impact on so many people, and I think about her often as well, since Ivy is just 22 days younger.
My parents lost a 2-year old daughter and I grew up thinking about what could have been, should have been, or would have been. Death was and is a difficult thing for me to accept. It's always so calming to see other people face it with courage, and you are definitely one of those people.
And, no matter where I am or what I'm doing, if I recall Jeff carrying her tiny little casket, I tear up. It's a moment in time that was filled with hope, loss, love, tragedy, triumph, and family- All in one. Your losing Sierra was the first death I'd experienced of a friend losing a child, and it had a HUGE impact on me.
Thanks for allowing me into your life and for your friendship Karen. I think you are AMAZING.
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