Hello, Jennifer, Jeffery, Katie, my brother Steve and I have just returned from the hospital. Unfortunately, Kari has not returned with us. She passed away today at 12:46 pm in the arms of her mother. We were all with her and had a chance to hold her, talk to her, and kiss her sweet, little, soft head. We decided to let her go and let God decide. She had fought so hard and for so long we felt as though we owed this to her. Although we will miss her each and every day and think of her constantly, we will never forget what she has meant to so many. Her short life touched the hearts of literally thousands of people both here and around the country. We spoke of everyone often and told her how many people were fighting for her through prayer. Now, she is truly an angel- no surprise, right?. From this point forward we feel Kari will watch over us, smile repeatedly, and comfort us in our incomprehensible sadness and complete despair. We take comfort that she is finally no longer struggling and is with the Lord. I am sure He has welcomed her with open arms and taken away her struggles, pain, and told her how much she was loved.

I held her before her mother, told her how much I loved her, stroked her head and read Matthew 19:13-14. “……Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” I told her were not abandoning her but we we were no longer going to hinder her journey to the Lord by keeping her here because we would miss her so deeply. She did not hurt or struggle- she appeared peaceful. Her quiet passing told us that she was ready and that she had been waiting for us to let her go. If she would have passed suddenly at another time we would have missed the opportunity to adequately say goodbye. We spent time with her and said what we needed to say- once again, God and Kari were waiting patiently for us. It was a true blessing and gift that our entire family will cherish until we meet her again.

We want to say thank you to everyone for their constant support and prayers throughout this whole time. It made such a difference in each of our lives, I cannot put this into words- mostly Kari’s. Jennifer, the kids, and I will probably start home tomorrow sometime. we will take the trip slow and not rush. We have begun to plan her funeral for this Sunday at Tetrick funeral home- so fitting, Easter Sunday! I will send another email out soon with the details and would welcome each and everyone of you at her service. It will be nice to put faces with so many unfamiliar names.

We wanted Kari with us so much but in the end, it was not meant to be. It was not about us, but about her. We let her go because we love her so, so deeply and without selfishness. She now knows all the support she received and I’m sure at this moment she is watching over all of us. I do not believe this is the end for her, something good will come of this an I cannot wait to see what it is. For now, I will wait patiently and cherish my Kare-bear’s short life, that brought so much joy to not only our family, but to so many of you all. I have so many more thoughts to express but for now, we are tired and need to recharge. I hope to write soon and begin the next part of Kari’s miracle, just as soon as she lets me know what to do. God Bless and thank you to everyone. We are forever in you debt.
sincerely,
Jeff