Sunday, October 13, 2024
Read at Lainey's service. My beautiful little Lainey Annalyn. Gigi wishes she had your strength to stand up and say what I want to say, but your Gigi is so sad and so heartbroken. There is nothing more I wish for than to walk in Golisano Children’s Hospital, get on the elevator to the 12th floor and walk down the halls to your room. I would do anything to caress your little head again while singing You Are My Sunshine and Rock A-Bye Baby to you, to help you sleep or ease your pain. I would do anything to see your big smile with all those dimples or have you hold my finger so tight. You were so strong! I would do anything to see those beautiful big blue eyes look up at me again. I would do anything to go back in time when you were doing so good. I was so blessed to spend those weeks with you and your Mommy, by your bedside, through good days and bad. You were the strongest little girl I have every known, and you fought with all your might to stay with us.
You were loved beyond words by family, friends, and even strangers we didn’t know. You were lifted in prayer by people and in churches all around the world. Everyone was amazed by your spirit and fight. You were our warrior. You gave us all strength and hope and taught us that if you could do it, so could we!
I have to say how proud I am of your Mommy and Daddy! They didn’t leave your side for four months. Their love for you was and is unconditional and is the strongest love I’ve ever seen. They fought and advocated for you every single day and did everything they could to keep you with us. They had an amazing relationship with the doctors, nurses and staff at each hospital, but mainly at Upstate where they were like family. The nurses fought over who was going to have you each day and night. They all loved you so much. You were not only our princess, but the little princess of the PICU floor. The motto was It’s Lainey’s Way, or No Way! You had them all wrapped around their little fingers.
The pain and heartache we are all feeling shows just how much love you brought into this world in such a short time. As a dear friend said to me, your amazing, beautiful, courageous, powerful soul will live on in our hearts forever. People say that time will heal this grief we are feeling, but with the size of the hole in my heart, I truly do not believe I will ever heal! “Our arms are empty, but our hearts are full of the love you left behind”. I love and miss you my beautiful little Lainey Bug!
All My Love, Gigi
In closing, I ask that you continue to pray for Michaela, David and our families. Mike and I are not only grieving the loss of our dear little Lainey, but we also grieve watching our children suffering the loss of their sweet little girl they wanted so badly.