Last summer, my phone went off with a text early one morning. It wasn’t making sense to me. I was so confused to be waking up to those words. Trying to understand what was happening, I reached out for answers, he wrote right back. I put my head down and cried.
My friend unexpectedly lost his precious little girl. He doesn’t live 5 minutes from me anymore; he lives hundreds of miles away, but over the days, weeks, and months that followed I tried to make sure I was there when he wanted to talk. When I think about his wife and 2 other kids, I look at my own and remind myself to see little Tori’s sparkling eyes. I did not have the pleasure of meeting her, but I have listened to her father talk about her, and I have read the stories loved ones have written about her. In her 2 years, she made a remarkable impression on those around her.
Tori’s death was ruled Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood {SUDC}. I was familiar with SIDS from worrying about it when my kids were newborns, but I was not aware of SUDC. It is defined as “the sudden and unexpected death of a child over the age of 12 months. ”
They are having an event on 7.20.13 at the North Suburban YMCA in Illinois to celebrate her life. If you cannot attend, consider making a donation. Every little bit helps. Please take a moment to pop over to the Tori Wilensky Foundation page, then LIKE the Moves Like Tori Facebook page. Read about her. Read about how much joy she gave others. Look at her pictures, and give your own children an extra hug today…for Tori.
