Two Little Girls...........

Good news: Tonaiya, our friend who is recovering from encephalitis, is doing well. She is learning to walk, talk, eat and function again. She was moved to the rehab floor of Seattle Children's and is improving each day. They are hopeful she might be out of the hospital by the end of the month. If you want to read the story, her webpage is: www.caringbridge.com/visit/tonaiyagray.

Sad news: A high school friend of mine I reconnected with through Facebook sent me a message a couple of weeks back asking for more information about Tonaiya because one of her family members was going through something similar. A healthy little girl, Robyn became ill the week of Aug. 3 and ended up suffering a month of seizures from what they think was viral encephalitis. Unfortunately, they were unable to stop the seizures with medications and she was in a drug induced coma for days. An MRI showed her brain has been damaged beyond life compatibility and now her parents must remove support. Such a tragedy! Two very similar stories, with two very different outcomes. You can read about Robyn's story here: www.carepages.com/carepages/robynupdate.

Which makes one ask - why? Why would this horrible thing happen to two healthy, strong, beautiful little girls? Why can't they figure out what caused this? Why can one of them recover while the other is going to die?

As a parent, I've worried about my kids being safe, healthy and sound. I've worried about all the common childhood illnesses. I've worried about them being in a car accident. I've worried about them contracting swine flu from school. But never did I think to worry that some mysterious illness would crop up without warning and forever change their lives. It's so scary to think that something like this can happen to healthy kids. I just hope and pray for Tonaiya's complete recovery and my heart pains for Robyn's family. I don't know them at all, but reading her page, you can see how scary this has been for them, and how painful it is going to be for them to put their daughter to rest.