Abrielle Neff Foundation: It's Going to be a Long 2 Months

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

It's Going to be a Long 2 Months

I had to go to Walmart last night for diapers and a few other things while Mady was at dance. I was greeted by a tall Christmas tree in the entry. Not what I was expecting since it is barely November. I did venture back into that dreaded section to find some ornaments for Abby's tree that we will be putting at the cemetery. They had some small rubber Princess sets and Cars sets. I called Marc to ask which one and we just decided to get both. I left that section in tears. After venturing out into the store to get what I really came for, I heard the Christmas music playing. I'm not sure why I didn't hear it before, I guess I was thinking of everything I needed to get (had a list for a girl scout project that I was preoccupied with). The music just made everything worse. I hustled around to get what I needed so I could get out of there. Needless to say I am not looking forward to the next 8 weeks.

On another note, all the positive thoughts must have helped because JackJack has finally started eating! He had eaten his bowl full of food by this morning. I am so relieved! If something happened to him I know I would be a mess. I promised Abby.

~Brenda

2 comments:

Jenni HalleyNovember 5, 2008 at 10:44 PM
Must be something about the music because I left Walmart the other day in tears too after the music and Christmas lights. I kept seeing things that I want for Brian's tree, and it just made me angry. I say some extra prayers for you to face what life keeps throwing you. Take care,
Jenni
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MarilynNovember 6, 2008 at 8:40 PM
Brenda,
I want you to know how much I admire your strength. I hope to meet you someday. I appreciate your blog, support and all that you have done for organ donation. It is the greatest gift anyone can give.
I can't imagine how hard of a decision it was but want you to know
what a gift it was for so many small children. I see so many of them here daily, besides Kyle, waiting for the gift of life. I have thought of you and your little Abrielle a lot. Working as a nurse at the hospital I was able to give some of the gift bags, and stuffed animals you donated to sick children when they were there. It really did put smiles on their faces. You and your family are such an inspiration and know that you are changing the world.
Marilyn
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Our Story...

Abrielle came into this world in a hurry to get started, which gave us our first glimpse at her personality. Not waiting on Dr Jane to put on gloves, only a towel to catch her with, she weighed in at six pounds fifteen ounces. From the beginning Abby had reflux, but there seemed to more than just that as she failed to gain weight. At four months we were sent to draw all kinds of labs, hoping for a solution, but all was normal. By six months of age, the vomiting became worse, almost nightly. We were keeping records of every calorie she ate, every dirty diaper, and every time she vomited. By this time Abby was refusing to eat supper most nights and would throw up her undigested lunch after bathtime at 8:00. Her food was just sitting in her tummy all day. Dr Watson sent us to Omaha Childrens Hospital to Dr Zapata a pediatric gastroenterologist to help diagnois the problem. There, over the next year and a half of her life, Abby underwent testing, treatments, and outpatient procedures. During every procedure she was given a stuffed animal to hold for comfort, even though she had Blankie with her.
To make a long story short, after the accident we discovered St Francis Hospital did not have a program like this for kids and Abby's Hugs was born.

That Tragic Day...

Thursday, March 29, 2007, began like any other school day in our household with the only exception being that it was Abby's sharing day at preschool. We had a rule that if the sharing item was not picked out the night before (which it usually wasn't), Abby had to be ready for school before she could find something to take. This morning was just like most ... nothing was picked out the night before. She hurried faster than usual that way she would have time to find something. After brushing her teeth, she ran to her room to find some clothes. I always tried to give Abby choices, but she was down to her last clean pair of capris. I gave her the option of wearing those, a pair of Gymboree Fruit Punch capris with a bright yellow shirt or jeans and a purple kitty shirt. She decided on the capri outfit which she had actually rejected every other day that week. After getting dressed, she went into Sissy's room and was playing with her LeapPad when I found her. I asked her how she wanted her hair fixed and she said "little pony". (Not that she was going to leave it in anyway) I helped her onto the sink and she dug through her basket of hair things until she found a yellow one. We went into the living room so I could sit down to brush her hair. Since sitting on my lap was now impossible, Abby stood in front of me as I pulled her hair up with the little yellow hair tie. She ran to her room and began looking for something to bring for sharing. She came out with her Little People's Noah's Ark set stuffed full of extra toys. Being a mean Mommy, I said, You can only bring one toy. Aww, was the response as she took the ark back to her room to look for something else. I went on about my routine of making my lunch and everything else to be ready to leave for work. Mady and I headed out to the Expedition and Abby was not following behind. I went back inside to find her and Marc on their way from her room with her big "bobbycat" (bobcat skidloader) for sharing. They had been looking for the scoop that attaches to the front but ran out of time. They decided that just the bobbycat would work. Marc helped buckle Abby in her car seat. Because she was so small we still used the 5-point harness and not just the seatbelt so she required some help. As we left the house, Marc pulled out ahead of the girls and I onto the gravel road. Just around the first set of curves past our house, I slowed down so we could watch the turkeys fly across the road. I am not sure if Abby saw them or not, but she said she did. We continued on, oblivious to our fate that lie ahead.

last added to 10/29 ...this I will add to as I am able ...thanks for understanding.

The Sentence

On June 25, 2008, Ryan C Sundermann was sentenced to 6 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on charges of involuntary manslaughter. Sundermann wrecklessly caused the death of Abrielle Neff in a motor vehicle collision on March 29, 2007. Sundermann was charged with failing to maintain proper control of his vehicle, failure to drive on the right half of the roadway and operated a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol.
Sundermann was previously convicted of Driving While Intoxicated and Failure to Drive on the Right Half of the Roadway on April 25, 2006 and sentenced to 2 years probation, 12 days in jail, and a $300 fine. On December 19, 2006, Sundermann was again convicted of Excessive Blood Alcohol Content-Prior Offender which he received a Suspended Execution of Sentence of 180 days, was continued on 2 years probation and received a fine.