Some very sad news to report on my end. My young niece Adelaide, who had just turned 1 last month, passed away yesterday morning. Obviously, my brother, his wife and my folks are devastated. I will be putting my Antiquities Act and National Park diaries on hold until July so I can attend the funeral and give myself enough time to mourn. More thoughts below the orange obituary
This news is something you never expect, and something that cuts deep into your soul. I was born 4 months premature 32 years ago, was a foot long and weighed 1 pound , 8 ounces, the size of a big box of cereal. i was given a 4% chance to live, and was born blind in 1 eye. yet i survived, made it through high school and college, and now work with a sports radio station. for me to survive all that, with the limits in medical care then as to now, and for my young niece to not make it, well there are no words. we're still determining the cause of death and when the funeral will be. I'll update the diary once I find out more. Please keep my brother and his wife and my family in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.
Thu Jun 18, 2015 at 3:59 PM PT: Update: An Autopsy has been performed, and the cause of death is bacterial meningitis- a swelling of the brain caused by infection by bacteria. this is very rare in young children, it appears both my brother and his wife had issues with strep, and little Adelaide caught it and it spread to her brain from her spine.