Avery Can

Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.
- Alan Sachs

Dear Avery Lynn Canahuati,

I found out from a friend that you died yesterday. Barely five months of living and you're already gone. And to think I just found out about you a few weeks ago... But you've been on my mind since I first learned about you and your sweet mom and dad. Unable to move much of your body or speak, but you've been teaching me the whole time. I want you to know how grateful I am for your mom and dad.

My husband always says that situations don't create character, they reveal it. I think your diagnosis surely did this in your parents' lives. Avery, you may not have been able to fully realize it, but your dad and your mom are very selfless people. Courageous, and honest and loyal. Fun loving, and willing to hope and not afraid to feel. When they learned of your SMA, they chose to zig when others probably would've zagged. They chose to make each day count. Instead of embracing bad news, they chose to embrace hope.  Who could have ever known last year, leading up to your big birthday, that your life would be so short? That you wouldn't even make it to your first "half birthday"?

Avery, It is with heartfelt and tear-filled gratitude that I write this. Thank you for reminding me that little moments count and that life is both amazingly precious and amazingly short. Your mom and dad's choice to share you with the world has made such an impact on my life. Thank you for living wide open and out there in front of everyone. Thank you for your smile, and for showing me about really living, even in the midst of dying. I took a deep breath, wiped away my tears, and went and grabbed my boy, just a few years older than you, to hug him tight and tell him he's loved.

Another thing to wipe off your bucket list - make a difference in the life of a stranger.

Well done, baby girl. Rest in peace.

With love, Susan

For more about Avery, please visit her blog at http://averycan.blogspot.com/