My Aunt Debbie, who has a blog entitled The Anchor Holds, blogged about her daughter Bailey's death in 2004. I should have done this on July 30, but have been really busy. Bailey was my cousin, and we were the closest in age (I was the youngest of my cousins Kori, Jacob, and Bailey; Rhyan was after Kori).
Ever since I can remember, we had gone to Tahlequah, Oklahoma the week of July 4th to visit with family, and my great-great aunt Ruthene, and to shoot off fireworks. What fun times those were, getting to battle mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks; getting to catch fireflies (or lightning bugs as we so fondly called them), eating really good homecooked food, riding around with Papaw Brame on the tractor there, getting to swim in the Illinois River...making trips to the Wal-Mart and Reeser Store. Also gettin to go down the water slide (of which made me very frightful of water slides because I hit my head on it the last time I went) and go to Del Rancho, the restaurant that was very popular, and serves one of the best cherry limeades I've ever had! Papaw would often take me, Rhyan, and our cousins to Braum's before dinner to get ice cream (Memaw didn't like that very much). Bailey would almost always get black walnut ice cream. I would almost always get cookies 'n' cream. In 2004, (I think) we weren't able to stay a whole week. We may have stayed 3 or 4 days, instead of the usual 5 or 7. We all, my cousins, aunt and uncle, and grandparents loaded up and we all went to my grandma's sister's house near Oklahoma City. My parents and I (Rhyan was in China at the time) visited then we left to stay in OKC and go to the National Cowboy Museum and Hall of Fame. That was the last time we saw Bailey alive, about 3 weeks before her death. How things can happen in such a short amount of time. I remember getting woken up by my dad one morning, July 30, and the look on his face scared me to death. My grandpa had had several health scares recently, and I was afraid something terrible had happened. I even asked my dad, "Is it Papaw? Is he okay?" Before answering me, my dad sat down on my bed, hesitated, and said, "Memaw called...Bailey's gone."
It took me a few seconds for that to register. "Bailey's gone?" I asked in disbelief. My dad nodded, and then I just started to sob, never realizing how close I was to Bailey. I guess you never realize how much you love someone until they're gone, do you? So, we all headed up to Skellytown that day, being able to pack and get everything in order quicker than normal; I think we got to Skellytown about 10:30 at night or so. My grandparents were devastated. All of us were devastated because none of us had seen it coming. Over the next few days, my parents and I would spend time at night on the porch swing. It's nice out at night in West Texas. I didn't realize that those nights would start the wheels turning for me to really consider what I wanted to do with my life. Bailey, because of her severe cerebral palsy, had taken hippotherapy (physical therapy with the aid of horses). I started to think about what it was; if it was somethin I could do later on. I started to do a lot of research into it, and for two or three years, I really was passionate about hippotherapy (now, I don't believe I could handle the stress and emotional part of it).
At the funeral, nearly the whole family wore something purple, because it was Bailey's favorite color. After everything was over, it was very difficult to get used to the idea of her being gone. For as long as I can remember, she had been at MEmaw and Papaw's to meet us when we got there for a visit. She had always wanted me to play with her right off. Though she couldn't walk, talk, or do anythin by herself, I could understand her. I can't really explain how or why...but I could. I guess I just learned to read her. I also never realized just how many people's lives she touched. Isn't that proof of how we almost never know how we impact other people's lives and that it's important how we live?
In short, I miss Bailey a great deal, but I know that she is in a much better place, where there is no sorrow, no sickness, no pain, no death. She is getting to do everything she wanted to do on earth but couldn't.
-In Loving Memory of Bailey Danielle Brame, October 23rd, 1990-July 30, 2004-
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