Our daughter, Annie, age 29, was a surgical ICU nurse at St. Raphael’s Hospital in Connecticut. She recently passed away at Yale NH Hospital, due to a ruptured aneurysm. Being a nurse, she knew that there was a 10-15 percent chance that she wouldn’t make it after surgery. Her surgery was, however, a success, but due to unforeseen complications, she died on Aug. 11. That day, our own heartbeat seemed to stop.
Prior to her surgery, we had “that” conversation which included her wishes should anything happen to her, never believing that this would take place ... but it did. Annie was always about giving to others, in her job, in her life, and even in her final days and hours. She touched so many people. She donated her hair to Locks of Love two weeks prior to going into the hospital and finally, she donated her organs to save others. Unknown to me, she had written two messages on her iPhone prior to her surgery, just in case. One to her husband, who was her high-school sweetheart, and one to me. He found her message to me as we sat by her bedside, willing her to keep fighting.
Among other things, she told me not to cry, that there would be good days and bad days but that the sun would always shine tomorrow. She also wanted me to get a tattoo but said don’t you dare not get one “in memory of” me. I had always fought her about getting one myself. She had a small tattoo of seagulls on the inside of her right foot, near her ankle. I took a picture of it. We went back to Delaware for a brief moment to prepare for going back in a few days to Connecticut where we would have a memorial service for Annie. It was my mission to get a duplicate tattoo, like Annie’s, prior to going back.
Good friends of mine reached out to several tattoo parlors in the area. Some didn’t return calls, others were unable to accommodate me due to such short notice. But one tattoo parlor did ... Tough Luck in Lewes. The owner, Kris, having heard about my desperation, came in on his day off to do the tattoo. When I met him, I realized that he and Annie had so much in common ... one of which was helping those in need. Kris helped me to do something for Annie as well as for myself. I needed this tattoo so desperately. I cannot say enough about Tough Luck or Kris. There are so many people in this world who are willing to help a stranger out...Kris and his staff are some of them. Thank you Kris. Annie thanks you too.
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