Adrienne was 12 and a half years old when she died. She had always been a healthy vibrant child and was blossoming into a delightful young lady at the time of her death. Her death was not due to an accident or prolonged illness. The cause of her death remained unknown until we received the autopsy reports 10 months later. In January, Adrienne had a case of influenza and the virus from that infection settled in the tissues surrounding her heart. Later, the virus irritated the tissues surrounding the heart enough to cause ventricular arrhythmia to occur.
On Feb. 16th, 1994, Adrienne was in the process of leaving school 10 minutes early to walk down to the dentist's office for a checkup. She collapsed in the hallway directly outside of the school nurses office. The nurse heard someone fall and immediately arrived to find Adrienne unconscious with no heartbeat. She and a fellow teacher immediately began CPR. The ambulance crew arrived (as did Adrienne's mother sister) and attempted to stabilize a heartbeat. This took quite a few minutes, meanwhile all the school children, being held in the classrooms awaiting dismissal, heard the ambulance crew working to save Adrienne. She was transported to the local hospital and then life-flighted to a larger, more specialized facility. We were given a 72 hour period before any definitive answers could be provided.
At first, Adrienne seemed to improve however, she took a turn for the worst on the night of the 18th. Both her father and I are sure of that being the actual time of Adrienne's death. She was declared brain dead on the 22nd of February 1994. Adrienne never regained consciousness after her collapse in the school hallway. She was very much alive and active one moment and then, suddenly, gone from our midst in the next moment.
I believed then, and still do now, that there was an amount of divine intervention in Adrienne's passing to make her departure as painless as possible. This occurred during the horrid winter of '94 when we had 5 ft. snow mounds. Adrienne could have collapsed anywhere in her school or along the way to the dentist and not have been discovered until it was too late. Instead, she collapsed at a spot where aid was provided immediately. Everything, humanly possible, was done to save Adrienne. There was no one at fault, nor anything lacking, to be blamed for her death. Though our hearts were full of sorrow, we did not have any anger for her being taken from us by another. We were blessed with a very special sense of peace. And I was given the knowledge of knowing that my daughter was indeed happy and well in God's kingdom.
On that night that she died, I lay on a bed trying to get some rest. Suddenly, though my eyes were closed, there was a bright light and I heard Adrienne's voice say, "It's okay, mom", not once, but several times. I know that she wanted me to know that she was fine and happy and that I should no longer worry about her. Although, I miss her terribly, I also know that she is always with me - I simply cannot see or touch her as I used to be able to do. But she is there besides me always, my special angel. And someday, I will again see her and the time of our separation will appear to be only the blink of an eye.
Adrienne loved art and music. She had just begun to take watercolor painting lessons and it was obvious that she had a natural talent for it. Her favorite music was the "Phantom of the Opera" of which the first phrase of the song "Think of Me" is written upon Adrienne's headstone. "Adrienne's Garden" is housed in the fourth floor waiting area of Tyler Memorial Hospital, Tunkhannock, PA. It continues to touch the lives of all who view it. This year the first annual "Adrienne's Garden" Art Awards will be presented by Tyler Hospital to students in grades K - 8 that demonstrate artistic ability. It is hoped that in presenting these awards other students might find their lives enriched by art and, thus providing a lasting tribute to Adrienne's memory.