Katie was always my angel and even though she hits some bumps in the road, I always loved her. I miss her so much. She was so happy the last few days of her life, she was excited about going to college, enjoyed being with me and life in general. She just glowed with love and joy.

Katie was with me for about 10 days over the holidays. We had a great time, going the Zoo for the light display and McWayne Center & Imax. Then we left Thursday for my parents in Florida for the few days and on to Panama City for two days, before going back home. We had a great trip down and after midnight on Christmas Eve Katie opened one of her presents, a Pikachu.  Then I got sick and spent all day Christmas Eve in bed. Katie spent the time with her grandparents and was so happy. Christmas I was still sick, but got up to open presents and then about noon we headed for Panama City. We went up I-75 to I-10, I drove until we got to the interstate and then let Katie drive, since she was not good with a 5 speed. I was nodding off occasionally, but Katie was talking non-stop about her life. She was so excited her grandfather showed her how to shoot an air gun. Then we stopped for fuel and she was so proud of herself that she was able to shift through the gears without stalling or jerking the car. I was so proud of her too.

We probably had only been back on the road about 50 minutes or so, when I guess Katie fell asleep at the wheel. I woke up when we ran off the road and realized we were going to hit a callbox post. It was just a few seconds before we hit it, Katie never made a sound, never tried to avoid it, and I never saw her, even though she was sitting next to me. When we hit the post, the car started to flip, reportedly 5 times, when it stopped, it was upside-down, I unfastened my seat belt and looked over at Katie, but could not see her because of the airbags and she never made a sound. I crawled out of the window and passed out. When I woke up again the paramedics where putting a board under me. I asked about Katie and was only told that other people were working on her. Finally in the emergency room, the doctor told me that she was gone, but died instantly.

I am generally ok, minor cuts and bruises, I just wish that pole had hit the right front corner rather than the left front corner. I still can't believe she is gone. I love her so much and I now have a huge whole in my heart.