Remembering Sarah Faith We kissed you goodnight one final time 2 years ago today, With your favorite song and a final prayer for an easy transition to Heaven. Your spirit filled the room that day as you soared above us all. Just 2 short years we had with you, it seemed such a cruel fate. How could God give us such a wonderful gift and then strip it away like this? Endless hours I think of you and all the memories you left. You put a lifetime of laughter and love into the time you had; As if somehow you knew you had somewhere else to go. We will remember you Sarah Faith! In every sunrise and sunset and each twinkling star in the sky; The way pretty flowers gave you cause to shout “Happy Day”!! In the laughter of every small child and in the warmth of a ‘big hug’. The way your smile could fill a room and your sadness could melt a heart. Your energy will never cease to fill my soul with love. It’s clear to me that a bigger job awaited you on the other side. It must have required someone with a pure heart, boundless love and Maybe even some experience in handling large groups… The ability to comfort in sadness and sing away the blues, Ever reminding us all that Jesus loves us and we should say it back. Because of you, Sarahbear, I have a new understanding of God and eternity. I have a new motivation to be the kind of person God meant for me to be. I’ll miss you every single second we’re apart, But I’ll go on because I know when my time on Earth is through You’ll be there to greet me when I enter that beautiful Kingdom. Today, I’ll try not to feel sad for what this day means here on earth, But to be happy for you and what this day means in Heaven. Not a day to remember loss, but to remember a rebirth… This is your Heavenly Birthday, Sarah And I celebrate you today! I love you baby girl!! Written for Sarah by her Mommy 6/28/06
This website has been created in memory of our beautiful daughter, Sarah Faith Schmidt(Sarahbear). Sarah Faith was born at 1:49 a.m. on March 28, 2003; a perfect blue eyed beauty. We knew from the moment she was born that she was special. She immediately stole the hearts of all those who saw her, especially her 5 big brothers and sisters. They adored her from the moment they laid eyes on her. She instantly became the center of our bustling, now 8 member, family. It seemed she was growing so quickly from infant to toddler and wanting to do so much for herself. She was so smart and independent. Sarah's Dr. was always so in awe of her as her developement was so advanced for her age. By the age of 2 years old, she was like dealing with a 3 & 1/2 year old. She had such charisma and personality, it just filled any room she entered. No matter where we went, people stopped us to tell us what a beautiful child she was and she always had a kind word for each of them. She was so silly, we couldn't pass anyone in the store or in a parking lot or anywhere without Sarah saying "Hi!" or "Hey Dude!" in a silly voice her big brothers had taught her. She accepted everyone she met without hesitation or question. Her love had no boundaries. She began learning songs and singing and dancing at a very young age and would often entertain us. Her two favorite songs to sing were "Say To The Lord I Love You" and "Jesus Loves Me". She sang them all of the time. I now believe these songs were a message our Precious Sarahbear was trying to tell us. She truly was an angel on earth... On June 28th, we began what would turn out to be anything BUT a normal day. I was sitting at the computer in my room working on a chore list for the summer while Sarah was playing with our 11 yr. old daughter, Leslie, watching T.V. on my bed. After a little while Sarah left the room to go into the living room where her little table and chairs, toy basket and books were. There are two safety gates in this room to protect her, so this is a safe room when all precautions are in place. There is a gate across the kitchen door that leads to the back door and one across the stairs leading down to front door and downstairs. After about 5 minutes I finished up and went into the living room to check on Sarah to find her gone. The gate at the stairs was open! The gate to the kitchen appeared to be closed so we immediately checked to see if Sarah had gone down to our 13 yr. old daughter's room. Chelsea said she wasn't down there! All three of us went running, Chelsea and I out the front door and around both sides of the house and Leslie back inside through the kitchen, to find that the gate there had been mistakenly left unlatched. She ran to the backyard where our pool was and suddenly I heard a scream like I've never heard before. I knew immediately what was wrong. I ran through the fence gate to see Leslie diving into the pool, as I got to the side, she handed SarahFaith out to me. She was limp and pasty white and her once sparkling blue eyes were gray and lifeless. I screamed for Chelsea to call 911!! I began pumping fluid from her as I ran inside the house. I laid her on the living room floor and Chelsea got me a towel to put under her neck and I began to perform CPR. I was in such a panic that I couldn't concentrate on what the 911 operator was saying, I just knew I had to get my sweet baby girl to breathe!! As fluid continued to flow from her mouth , I continued to clear it and give her breaths as I screamed for God to please save my baby! After about 4 minutes Paramedics arrived and swooped our frightened girls downstairs and I was pushed into the kitchen. An officer began asking me questions about what had happened but I was in such a panic I couldn't speak. I hit my knees and began begging God for the life of our precious little Sarah. I heard a voice say "I've got a rhythm!" I think that was when I took my first breath. I had called my husband Steve and given the officer the number to call my mother. They both arrived at about the same time, just as the Paramedics were taking our Sarahbear out to the ambulance. My mother and I followed the ambulance to the hospital, while Steve stayed behind to answer questions and get the girls together. After about 30 minutes of absolute fear and devastation, the Dr. came out of the ER room and said they had revived her, but that she had a collapsed lung. She was still not stable, but she was alive!!! A short time later Steve arrived, as did many other family members, and we began to pray. The Dr. came in and asked to speak to Steve and I alone. He told us that Sarah was still unstable and that things looked very grave. He did not expect her to make it through the night. I had never felt such agony and pain in all of my life. We were told that they were still trying to stabilize her and that once that was done we would be able to see her in PICU. We were then moved from the ER to a waiting room for the PICU. We just continued to pray for our sweet Sarah. We made phone calls and had prayer chains going all over the US and even across the world to Germany and Iraq, 24 hours around the clock. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, another Dr. came out and spoke to us. Again we were told that things didn't look very good. She was as stable as she was going to get and very weak. We were only allowed to see her for 5 minutes at a time, every 15 minutes. She was on a ventilator as she was not breathing on her own and had not yet woke up. That night we didn't really sleep, we had visitors there most of the night and just continued to pray. Each time they let us in to see her we held her hand and kissed her and told her how much we love her. We asked her to fight, so she could come home with us, we just wanted her to live!! Sarah loved to swim in the pool and had even been given lessons at the YMCA, but as any 2 yr. old would, she still needed supervision. Sadly on this day, she thought she could do it on her own...
The next morning everything seemed to turn around. The Dr. came in and told us that during the night Sarah had made major improvements. He said she was healing almost too fast. Her kidneys were functioning, her heart was better, her lungs were better, her bladder was working and she was trying to breathe on her own. He just couldn't believe how much she had healed in such a short time. We were so hopeful, we felt our prayers were being answered. As the day went on we continued to get good news. They had given her a paralytic to keep her from breathing on her own as she was fighting against the ventilator and they didn't want her doing any of the work. By early evening we were able to spend as much time with her as we wanted and had even brought up her favorite video that played "Say To The Lord I Love You" for her to hear. They brought in a lounge chair as family and friends continued to stream in to see her and to pray.
Sarah's body was healing quickly, but her brain was still a concern. She was showing low and mid level brain function but no higher level. This would mean if she didn't regain the higher function, she would be unable to walk, talk, feed herself, and it was possible that she would never wake up from the sleep that she was now in. We didn't care if she was perfect or not, we just wanted our daughter. That evening I was on the phone with my mother when Steve came into the waiting room and said I had to come with him right away. He had just come from Sarah and something was wrong. Nurses were running in and out of her room and the Dr. was shouting orders. We stood outside her room watching this chaos not knowing what was happening, just fearing the worst. A few minutes later the Dr. came out of the room and said everything was fine, he would come and talk to us in a few minutes about what had just happened. So we went to the waiting room and about 15 minutes later he came in and we were told that one of the nurses had given Sarah the wrong medication; that she had reacted very adversly, but that he had taken care of it and everything was going to be okay. That night I chose to stay in the room with Sarah. I didn't sleep much again, mostly stood with her, holding her hand, laying with her, watching her and praying a lot! All night her machines kept alarming, but the nurse would come in and push a button and say everything was great or fine. About 6:45, I went out to let Steve know how the night had gone and to take a shower. While I was in the Shower, Steve went to be with Sarah. When I came out of the shower, Steve informed me that they had found that Sarah's other lung had collapsed the previous night after the incident with the medication. She had coded and in reviving her again, the second lung collapsed and they hadn't caught it until the next morning. A short time later, the Dr. on call made his rounds and requested Steve and I come to see him in Sarah's room. We were told that she had been through a very difficult night and that her vitals were dropping and things were again looking bad. This all made no sense to me, the nurse had told me all night that she was fine!!! We were again devastated. I was in very bad shape as I hadn't slept for 2 nights, so Steve asked them to get me a room to rest in. I went to lay down and after a little while there was a knock at the door. It was Steve and the Head Nurse; Sarah was getting worse and Steve and I had to make some decisions. We took a few minutes alone and just sat in that dark room and held eachother and cried together. We knew they were starting her on epinephrine so she wouldn't code. We also knew that it may only work for a little while and if she did code and they were able to revive her; she would be in even worse shape than she currantly was in. We went to Sarah's room, as did the rest of our family, to spend as much time as we could with her. About 2:00 p.m. the Dr. came in and asked to see Steve and I alone. They had continued to give Sarah the Epi. and increased it several times to keep her blood pressure stable and her oxygen levels up. Her heart rate was racing at 210 beats per minute though. We didn't know how long her little body could continue this fight. The Dr. told us at this time that we were no longer prolonging her life, he said we were only prolonging her death. He gave us the option of either continuing the way we were, with her on the machines until her body just gave up, or we could take her off of the machines and allow her to pass in the arms of those who love her. We ultimately chose the latter. By 3:00 Sarah was being unhooked from the machines and wrapped in a blanket. Her daddy picked her up off the bed and laid her in my arms. Many had come to say goodbye. Her PICU room was full and numerous friends and family members who couldn't fit in the room filled the space in the PICU hallway. The end of her life was filled with love and she was held by all of her brothers and sisters, grandma's and grandpa's and daddy and mommy. We held onto her and told her we love her, sang her favorite song to her and told her that we didn't want her to go; all the while praying for a miracle that would never come. As I held our precious Sarah Faith in my arms, her passing was pronounced at 3:42 p.m. on June 30th, 2005. Our sweet angel had given up her fight and her beautiful spirit had gone to be with Jesus. We got to bathe her one last time, change her diaper one last time, dress her one last time and I got to fix her beautiful hair one last time. We sat with her until they said it was time to go. I made the nurse promise me that she would stay with Sarah until she was removed from her room. I couldn't bear the idea of her being alone; the nurse agreed. Steve held her once more before laying her back on the bed. There are no words to describe the pain and sorrow in those final moments as we were leaving her room and then finally leaving the hospital...without our little Sarah. We held her funeral service on July 5th at our home church with over 200 family members and friends. Sarah had touched so many lives in her short time on earth, the church was packed with people who loved her and wanted to say goodbye to this sweet little angel. It was a beautiful service held by Steve's Uncle Dave, who is a Pastor. We all wrote Sarah goodbye letters which were read aloud and we played all of her favorite songs in hopes that she would be there singing and dancing. Afterwards we had a balloon release outside the church, I can just imagine the big bright smile on her face as she saw them all coming up toward her, it was so beautiful. We then had a short graveside service where we said our final goodbye's to this most precious little girl, our sweet Sarahbear, as our hearts broke in two.
She was a most amazing child who will be missed by many for years to come. We always knew she was special and that there were great things in store for her, our mistake was thinking that it would happen on earth. She was a soldier for the Lord at the tender age of 2 and now she is an angel doing God's works. We will always love and miss our sweet Sarah Faith, the most precious angel in God's Heaven. Our family would like to thank all of you who have come to Sarah's site and lit candles and left messages of encouragement. In this time of great sorrow, kind words are always appreciated. Sometimes it's the little things that can brighten the day of a sad heart. Thank you again and God Bless you all.
Always Missing You......... / MemaKatherine &. PapaRon (Grandparents)
Dearest Sarah Faith...
Our precious, sweet babygirl...
Were you watching me today as I sang your song at church...and the whole congregation sang along? Did Jesus lift you up as we sang your song...and did you sing along and "Say To...
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HAPPY VALENTINES SWEET ANGEL.. / IRENE MOMMY TO ANGEL KAYLA XAVIER FOREVER (FEV. 14, 2009 )
DEAR SARAH..SWEET ANGEL, MAY YOUR DAY BE AS BEAUTIFUL AS YOU ARE...LOVE ALWAYS AND FOREVER...IRENE, MOMMY TO ANGEL ..KAYLA XAVIER...FOREVER..
happy christmas from heaven.... / IRENE MOMMY TO ANGL KAYLA XAVIER 4EVER (DEC.22,2008)
Blessed Mothers Day / Angie Trevizo Mom Of Christopher
Happy Birthday Sweet Sarah / Denise Kneale (connected by angels )
Have a wonderful Birthday in Heaven dear Sarah, celebrating with all our Angels and lighting up our skies, whilst leaving small signs to your dear family of love, peace and strength.
Love and Blessings Denise mum to James. http://james-kneale.memo...
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Happy 4th Birthday my precious Sarah-bear / Mommy Read >>
Merry Christmas my sweet Sarahbear! / Mommy Read >>
On the day that you were born, My heart swelled with such pride. How could I have known our time together would be so short? I watched you grow and learn more each day, I was in awe of you. It never ceased to amaze me, the effect you had on others. Falling in love with you was the norm for everyone. Each new day, was a new adventure that we went on together. Now all I have is memories, I hold them all so dear. So small and so perfect, you taught me so much. My heart just doesn’t understand… How can our time be over, how do I wait to see you again? My beautiful little Sarah-bear, My arms long to hold you just once more. My eyes long to see your smile and shining eyes. My ears strain to hear your laughter; To hear your angelic voice singing a song. Oh, to hear you say “Mommy, I love you”! Such joy that would bring to my heart. My neck wants to feel your arms around it again. I want to kiss your eyes as you sleep And stroke your silky hair. I miss everything about you, how do I fill this void? It can’t be filled by anything; you’re the only one who can fit. You were so tiny, so young and yet so very wise. I know you’re helping God now, I am so very proud of you. I thank God everyday for letting me be your mommy. You lived so much in your abbreviated life, I admire you for that. I always knew you’d be someone great… But how could I have known, You were an angel in disguise? Never forget that I LOVE YOU and that I think of you EVERYDAY! It’s your face I see when I close my eyes And I wouldn’t have it any other way. One day, I will see you again And I hope you’ll be waiting with “Big hugs” And “peace-an-gum”,as you sing to me “Say to the lord I love you”! I’ll be listening… Always and forever, Your adoring Mommy!!! From my heart to my sweet Sarah Faith Schmidt Angel “Sarah-bear” March 28, 2003 ~ June 30, 2005
Dearest Child I know you are confused and hurt by what has happened. I know you cannot see why a little one has left you. As much as you loved her, love her more! As hard as it is right now you must trust in me. I have not left you nor am I punishing you. You are precious to me. I love you today as much as I did on the day I gave you life.
You want to know why I have taken this young life from you. Especially now you must try to have faith that I am in control. Know that Sarah is with me, this is where she belongs. She is in perfect health and plays with angels all day. There are none so special as these innocent ones. You will meet again, she is waiting for you, here by my side.
I love you, do not doubt my wisdom on all things. Each morning when you look at the sky, I am there. If the sky is cloudy, I am giving rest; if the sky is sunny, I am giving warmth. The rain renews, and the fluffy clouds entertain and amuse you. Did you hear a child laugh or cry, this was not to hurt you, but to remind you that Sarah laughs but no longer cries. The perfection of my Heaven surrounds her.
The smile you receive on the face of a stranger is a message of love from me. As the days pass your grief will lessen, you will heal. Take time now to strengthen yourself and those around you, lean on each other. I am with you. I know your heart is breaking, try to accept instead of question. Remember the joy your child brought to you and everyone, I bask in that joy every day.
As you reflect, count your many blessings both great and small. I want you to go on and be happy again. Do not keep yourself from laughing or enjoying life. You are special to me, you have a purpose to fulfill. Not the one you may have planned, but what I have planned for you.
Never doubt things are as they should be. Make your choices ones she would be proud of. Look for me in everything, I am with you now and always!
I love you, I love you, I love you! Your Father,in Heaven.
Catch My Giggle I'm at your memorial service today, Sarah Faith Way in the back row Do you see me? I'm listening as everyone sends their love Listening to their songs and prayers I'm looking at your photograph I can see in your eyes you're bright and quick And it looks as if you're about to giggle
As I join in prayer with your family and friends I feel a light breeze pass by my cheek Is that you, Sarah? Yes, I think I see you now Looking over us
They are reading letters to you from mom and dad, Brothers and sister, from Papa Ron and Mema, too The letters help me to know you I feel your energy and joy A big grin and a giggle as you run by I realize from the letters how lucky you are, to have such a loving family I'm proud of them today, Sarah They gave you such a special place to live!
I can hear you, Sarah Singing along "Jesus loves me this I know" Hi, Sarah! There you are! I can see you leaning against Papa Ron's chair Asking him to catch your giggle as you visit him there
You skipped heartache and sorrow leaving this way Nothing but blue skies after today I know where that giggle came from, Sarah A family united, Each one A family sharing their love and devotion to you.
I will always think of you when I sing, "Jesus Loves Me" There you are! I see you Sarah I hear you Yes, Jesus loves you I'm sad, but part of me is happy Because today, Sarah Faith, I caught your giggle, too!
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About 6:45, I went out to let Steve know how the night had gone and to take a shower. While I was in the Shower, Steve went to be with Sarah. When I came out of the shower, Steve informed me that they had found that Sarah's other lung had collapsed the previous night after the incident with the medication. She had coded and in reviving her again, the second lung collapsed and they hadn't caught it until the next morning. A short time later, the Dr. on call made his rounds and requested Steve and I come to see him in Sarah's room. We were told that she had been through a very difficult night and that her vitals were dropping and things were again looking bad. This all made no sense to me, the nurse had told me all night that she was fine!!! We were again devastated. I was in very bad shape as I hadn't slept for 2 nights, so Steve asked them to get me a room to rest in. I went to lay down and after a little while there was a knock at the door. It was Steve and the Head Nurse; Sarah was getting worse and Steve and I had to make some decisions. We took a few minutes alone and just sat in that dark room and held eachother and cried together. We knew they were starting her on epinephrine so she wouldn't code. We also knew that it may only work for a little while and if she did code and they were able to revive her; she would be in even worse shape than she currantly was in. We went to Sarah's room, as did the rest of our family, to spend as much time as we could with her. About 2:00 p.m. the Dr. came in and asked to see Steve and I alone. They had continued to give Sarah the Epi. and increased it several times to keep her blood pressure stable and her oxygen levels up. Her heart rate was racing at 210 beats per minute though. We didn't know how long her little body could continue this fight. The Dr. told us at this time that we were no longer prolonging her life, he said we were only prolonging her death. He gave us the option of either continuing the way we were, with her on the machines until her body just gave up, or we could take her off of the machines and allow her to pass in the arms of those who love her. We ultimately chose the latter. By 3:00 Sarah was being unhooked from the machines and wrapped in a blanket. Her daddy picked her up off the bed and laid her in my arms. Many had come to say goodbye. Her PICU room was full and numerous friends and family members who couldn't fit in the room filled the space in the PICU hallway. The end of her life was filled with love and she was held by all of her brothers and sisters, grandma's and grandpa's and daddy and mommy. We held onto her and told her we love her, sang her favorite song to her and told her that we didn't want her to go; all the while praying for a miracle that would never come. As I held our precious Sarah Faith in my arms, her passing was pronounced at 3:42 p.m. on June 30th, 2005. Our sweet angel had given up her fight and her beautiful spirit had gone to be with Jesus. 
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