Dad’s last day with Izzy

Izzy and I spent Sunday like most of our Sundays.  In the car for 90 minutes to softball practice, after practice a stop for food and another 90 minutes home.  

As a 7th grader and again as an 8th grader she played travel softball on her Mad Apple team that was mostly high school players.  This meant during the high school season she could sub or pick up with another team for the spring.  She had just committed to play in the spring with Indiana Magic Gold out of Liberty, IN.  We got in the car after eating lunch and spent the first half of the drive talking.  As usual, she asked to spend some time watching old TV shows on her phone.  I think she had just finished One Tree Hill and was just getting into Dawson’s Creek.  She would give me long descriptions about what was happening in her shows even though I never watched them.  She was practicing in a gymnasium and I got to watch her practice at second base and do some throwdowns as a catcher.  I was in a side hallway working on my softball watch. The second half of practice was at the batting cages, a short drive away.  Her teammate Scarlet joined us for the short car ride over and they talked a little bit about Kings Island, since Scarlet is from just outside the park.

I watched a little bit of her batting cage time, but went to the car to rest for most of it.  After practice we went to get dinner.  Sunday was a full moon, so the countryside was lit up as we went to get dinner.  As we turned down one road we saw a family of deer running across a field.  They ran beside us for a while and as we made our next turn I was able to slow down and let the headlights light them up for a bit.  As they ran away she turned her attention to the full moon.  She asked about the different patterns on the face of the moon.  She asked how deep I thought the deepest crater was on the moon.  She wondered if it was 1000 miles deep 😀

We got fast food and ate in the car.  She talked about her recent high school tour she took with her Mom. She told me all the high school classes she was signed up for and how excited she was for her AP classes.  She talked about her friends and what classes they were taking.  I think we talked most of the way home. She was riding high after meeting a new group of softball players and having a good practice. 

We walked into the kitchen at home and gave mom the download of our last 8 hours together.  We talked about how busy her week was going to be and suggested she take the day off from Speed and Agility and weight lifting scheduled on Monday.  She told us she was fine, she wasn’t sore and even did a toe touch to show us she was good to go.  Her joints popped like an old catcher.  She laughed and made fun of herself, she loved cracking her knuckles and found it satisfying. 

I went and sat in bed and turned on the Grammys while everyone was getting ready for bed.  Izzy came in and watched a performance or two.   She told me “Thank you for today.” “Love you” and went to finish her bedtime routine. The girls sleep with their bedroom doors open, so when Cerissa walked by around 10 pm and noticed Izzy’s door was still closed, she knocked to make sure Izzy was making her way to bed. Izzy opened the door with a big smile. She was finishing up organizing her things for school on Monday morning. She hugged her mom, told her she had a great day, and said “I love you.”

What followed Monday morning came out of nowhere and was completely unexpected. When Cerissa went to make sure she was getting up, she was unresponsive.  Cerissa called 911 while she attended to Izzy. Cerissa and Lucy had to get her off the bed and onto the floor so Cerissa could do chest compressions. 

I was at the gym in the morning and didn’t know this was going on until I pulled into the driveway and an ambulance followed me into the neighborhood and parked in front of our house. Lucy was holding the door open for the paramedics and I asked her “Who is it”, and she told me “Izzy”.  

I walked in behind the paramedics and to Izzy’s room where I saw her lying on the floor.  They took over for Cerissa and we all held each other as our world crumbled around us.  

I appreciate you taking the time to let me share a little glimpse into the life we shared with Izzy and how a normal Sunday was filled with little gifts that she gave me.