Aria's Life in Review: Day 50 - August 18, 2014. . .The day she became an angel

Mike, Bennett, and I had slept at the hospital the night before, then we had the family room reserved this day so we could have privacy on Aria's last day.  

I love this picture of Mike and Aria - I told Mike that Aria's hair was lightening up to be closer to his shade, so he tried to compare.

We spent some time as a family for the last time, then sent Bennett home with my sister after he said his goodbyes.  He left her with a "hug, kiss, and tickle" on her tummy which was his thing at the time.  It was cute and endearing.

(taken just minutes before she passed)

In the early afternoon, Mike gave her a blessing, and her medical team came to take her off of life support.  Without going into details, she passed from this world pretty immediately.  Although we had not expected her to go quite that quickly, it was somewhat reassuring that we had made the right choice in not trying to force her to live when she clearly was done.  She had a foot in death's door ever since she first crashed a few days prior, and we just felt like it was cruel to demand she be kept in this world.  Even still, making the decision to let her go was, and I hope will always be, the most difficult decision I have ever had to make.  Even knowing it was the right decision didn't make it any easier.

We spent a few more hours with her before we left her forever.  Walking out of that room for the last time was equally as hard.  I will always treasure that first and last time I had to hold her freely, without wires.  We just love that little girl so much.