In Loving Memory of...

When we moved here 3 years ago Ashlyn had a hard time adjusting and making friends. At church her class was combined(CTR 6/CTR 7) and their were only 3 little girls in the class. Ashlyn quickly became friends with Carmen Galbraith. They got along very well and liked a lot of the same things. They did some fun stuff and played great together. Then in September of 2007 her friend Carmen was diagnosed with a brain tumor that had metastasized to her spine. It was a shock for everyone, but Kaiser Hospital responded quickly and within a day of finding out she had surgery to remove the tumor and underwent chemo-radiotherapy for six weeks. She had a break and then received six more rounds of chemotherapy. They thought she was in the clear, because she started to regain her strength, look healthier, and we could see her little personality starting to show through again. Another six weeks went by and everything looked good. Then just last month on the 19th they found ten different tumors in her brain, and a collection of metastases at the bottom of her spine. This was devastating news to everyone. She continued to fight but on Wednesday Feburay 18th at 10:20pm she returned home to her Heavenly Father.
Ashlyn had a rough couple of days, but knows that she is at peace and out of pain. She has asked us lots of questions this past week and Noah and I have done our best to answer all her questions. We attended the funeral today. One thing that was really special was when they let 40 white doves fly away. All four of her bothers each held a dove in remembrance of Carmen. It was hard to say goodbye, but Ashlyn knows she will someday see her again. So for now she will miss her and a part of her will hurt, but soon that hurt will be filled with memories of her dear little friend Carmen.