I lost my daughter on January 31, 2025.

Just typing those words sucks the breath from my lungs and causes my heart to pound so hard it feels like I might collapse to the ground.

She was on this earth for 9,979 days.

Her heart beating for 239,496 hours.

And then she was gone…

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I was sitting at my desk when my cell phone started vibrating. It was my son calling. I hit decline and began to text him that I was still at work for another half hour.

He immediately called again, and sensing something was wrong, I hopped up from my chair and headed for the break room, answering the call as I stood.

It wasn’t my son on the other end of the line. It was his girlfriend. And I could hear my son sobbing in the background.

SOMETHING WAS DEFINITELY WRONG.

“I’m calling to tell you that Kay was in an accident,” her soft voice trembled into a long pause.

“…and she…I’m so sorry.”

“she didn’t make it.”