In loving memory of our beautiful daughter Victoria. 
Always an angel.
Forever our saint.

When God calls little children
To dwell with Him above,
We mortals sometimes question
The wisdom of His love.
For no heartache compares with,
The death of one small child,
Who does so much to make our world,
Seem so wonderful and mild.
Perhaps God tires of calling
The aged to His fold,
So He picks a rosebud
Before it can grow old.
God knows how much we need them,
And so He takes but few,
To make the land of heaven
More beautiful to view.
Believing this is difficult
Still somehow we must try,
The saddest word mankind knows
will always be Good-by.
So when a little child departs,
We who are left behind
Must realize God loves children,
Angels are hard to find. 

 

Victoria was everything we could have ever wanted in a daughter and sister. Bright and beautiful, she filled our lives with joy and love. She was a blessing, God's precious gift to us---and we were fortunate enough to know that while she shared our lives. Not a day goes by that we do not think about her. Our arms long to hold her and our ears strain to hear her voice. We know she is in heaven now, singing with the angelic choirs, Irish dancing for the saints and finding out what is going to happen to Harry Potter in book seven. But once upon a time, our little angel danced on earth. . .
Victoria was born on May 25, 1994. She was an unusual baby. She seemed to know exactly who everyone was, what their job was and how to tell us what she wanted. She continued to amaze us through her childhood with her intelligence, love of God and sense of humor. She loved to read, especially Harry Potter and American Girl books. She liked to dance and took lessons in ballet and acro-jazz before finally settling on Irish dancing. Victoria did very well in school. She was in the honors math program and student council. She always did her best to be a good daughter and a good student. We were and still are so very proud of our lovely child.
On February 13, 2003 we learned that Victoria had a cancerous brain tumor. She had surgery and literally bounced back! Within two weeks she was back to school. She recovered so well from the surgery that you'd never know she had been sick. Then came the extensive rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. Once again, she handled them so well that it was hard to believe that she was battling such a serious illness.
For nineteen months, Victoria continued to live a normal life. She went to school, played with her friends, continued dancing and joined a diving team. We thought for sure that God had blessed us with a miracle. Sadly it was not to be. On September 10, 2004 Victoria complained of a pain in her ribs. An MRI revealed that the cancer had come back. This time, it was not one tumor, but masses all over her brain and spine. The doctors gently told us the words we had dreaded all along. It was time to make Victoria comfortable.
As grim as things looked, we could not throw in the towel. We continued to pray for a miracle and tried different chemo treatments that were in clinical trials. Meanwhile, the tumors on her spine crippled her. Victoria was wheelchair bound.
She was a smart little girl and even though she did not say so, we believe she knew she was dying. This was such a difficult period for our family. We struggled with so many emotions while trying desperately to keep Victoria's spirits up. We spent many long nights in the hospital praying and hoping that something would work for her. Through it all, Victoria's faith in God remained true. She continued to pray the rosary with our family and insisted on attending Mass. One day during her illness, I learned that a friend's son was undergoing tests to see if he had neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system. I told Victoria about it and she was concerned. She said, "Oh Mommy, that's not fair. Dan is just a little boy. He's too small to deal with something like this." That broke my heart. She was just a little girl! As sick as she was, she insisted on praying for him and when we learned that Dan's test were clear, she smiled.
On November 6, Victoria developed a cold which turned into pnemonia. She was given antibiotics, but it wasn't enough.  Her dad and I were by her side the whole time, holding her hands and telling her how much we loved her. The hardest thing I did was tell her that we loved her and would be with her every step of the way, but if she wanted to go with God it was okay. She passed from this life at 4:00 am on November 9, 2004.
Dearest child, we love you so much. It hurts so dreadfully sometimes---like someone reached into my chest and just ripped my heart out. I want to feel better, but this is not something that goes away quickly. I miss you baby, and I love you. Heaven must be a beautiful place because you are there.