A Dream For Baylee

Baylee's Birthday Flowers

Today Baylee would have turned 15. Duane put some flowers at her special spot, 14 purple carnations and ONE white rose.

 

First Scholarship Recipient 4/17/10

On Saturday, April 17th, we presented Hana Violet Beddawi with the very first Baylee Rose Tadlock Scholarship! Hana received a year of horse riding therapy sessions at Project Ride. It's because of people like YOU who donated to Baylee's Scholarship that we are able to make this possible. Thank you!
**how cool that they both have flowers for middle names!**

You can read the entire article here at the Elk Grove Citizen. 

 
Tina making the presentation speech of what Hana will receive.

 
Me & Hana's Mom, Marilyn, trying not to cry. It was really hard.

 

 
   
 
 
 

Baylee's Name Marker

We found out today that Baylee's marker was up on her crypt.  A friend sent us a message to tell us so we went down to the cemetery to look at it. We didnt receive a phone call telling us it was up. A few of the numbers are crooked so we had them order a new one. Hopefully it wont take long. It's so real now...the final step in her burial.

2/26/10 update

Today Baylee's physical therapist, Miss C, stopped by to pick up her leg and arm braces.  Baylee had the type braces that could be placed on her arms & legs and held on with velcro strips. They worked really well for her arms especially because she would always keep them bent. The braces had a small board that would "splint" her elbow and help straighten it out. The same with the ones for her legs...they would help straighten out her knees. Her other pair of leg braces were fitted to her feet perfectly using casting material to make them. She always hated having her feet cast but the final product worked very well for her. And with a pair of tennis shoes on over the top of them she was able to stand and walk (with assistance) and not slip.

Baylee's Wristbands

We finally have Baylee's wristbands. The donations proceeds will be given to the Baylee Rose Tadlock Scholarship Fund for Project Ride

You can get yours here using paypal. $2.00 each and $1.00 shipping per band. (of course, we can combine shipping if you want more than 1.)

Wristband only (for locals to pickup/drop-off)

Wristband with Shipping (for those who want shipped or who out of city/state/country/etc...)

 

Baylee's Slideshow

Baylee's slideshow is now online and ready for viewing. Just click the link below. It's about 45 minutes long so give it time to load after you click the play arrow.
<--- The lyrics to the songs are on the left, here on Baylee's webpage.

Enjoy Baylee's life in Pictures: http://www.bayleerosetadlock.shutterfly.com/27

Baylee's 14th birthday

Today was a really hard day for us. Baylee would have turned 14 today....on her GOLDEN day! It's so special to have a Valentine baby! We both miss her tremendously & wish she could have been here to celebrate with us. One of the songs at church this morning was played at her funeral in the slideshow...I Can Only Imagine by Mercy Me. I tried to hold it together but I just couldnt. I completely lost it & cried thru the entire song. We both did actually. After church we went over to the cemetery to Bays special place & put her birthday flowers from Daddy in the vase, 13 red carnations and 1 white rose...14 flowers in all. We were really hoping her name&date would have been up on the granite already.

 

2/11/10 update

Just a few minutes ago the pharmacy delivery guy stopped by 2pick up all of Baylee's feeding supplies...iv pole, pump, backpack, formula, feeding bags, extension sets, extra mic-key button, syringes and gauze. (anything we had left they donate to families in need.) We've been renting the equipment 4her tube feedings since early 1997, just a month after her surgical feeding tube placement. We've been blessed to have good health insurance that paid the $1200 bill every month. It's so strange 2c her area in the living room and her closet in her room where we stored her supplies empty now. This is really hard....it's starting to sink in a little bit.

Baylee's Internment

This morning at 11am we laid Baylee to rest at East Lawn. Her urn was so perfect for her, purple and gold with roses painted on the front. Pastor Steve read from 1Thessalonians 4:13-18 and spoke about Hope and Comfort. Then Duane & I placed Baylee's urn (with her ashes, Strawberry Shortcake doll & photo of us 3 inside) in the crypt and Pastor said a prayer. We watched 2 men seal the crypt. After the internment we all had lunch together at the Spaghetti Factory.

I'm not going to add a lot of words here, these pictures speak for themselves.
 
 
back: Dennis, Geneva, Nicole, Jim, Mike, Scott, Becky, Crystal, Bonnie
middle: Mel, Juanita, Jim, Shirley, Steve
front: Kim, Duane, Sonda, Tami
 
 
 

(When Baylee's marker (name+dates) is added I will post a photo.)

February 2, 2010 @11am @East Lawn

First time back at church

Today was our first day back to church at FABC since July 5th, 2009. It was so strange walking into the worship center empty handed, not pushing Baylee in her wheelchair to "our" spot. We always sat in the back where her wheelchair fit right next to the edge of the pew and I sat next to her. Duane sat in the sound booth behind us. It was just too difficult for me to sit in our usual spot, so Duane and I sat up front with the Pastor's family. A very different view...we were use to looking at the back of everyone's head.

The last song was When We All Get To Heaven.
"When we all get to heaven
what a day of rejoicing that will be
when we all see Jesus
we'll sing and shout the victory."

Duane & I were both crying and KNOW we will see Baylee again in Heaven.

Bill said the announcements and thanked everyone for us. After the service I broke down. It was such a difficult day for both of us.

January 31, 2010 @10:30am

Baylee's Service was so beautiful!

The sun was shining and it was 60° degrees outside. A gorgeous day! God made the day just perfect for us. We arrived around noon to help with any setup and greet family & friends as they arrived. The service started at 2:05pm. About 1000 people attended. It was absolutely beautiful!

• Pastor Joel of First Baptist Church of Elk Grove welcomed everyone and opened with a prayer.
• Pastor Steve (our pastor) said a few words, introduced Dennis (Grand-dad) and Duane.
• Dennis talked about Baylee's history (birthday, going to school, therapy sessions,time spent with her Aunts and the numerous visits during her illness) and read a story from Grandma Helen Sparks titled GodSpeak.
• Duane thanked everyone for their prayers, love & support. He shared stories about Baylee's gift of Mercy with Mrs. Bartucco, how Baylee liked to play peek-a-boo, and her love of riding horses at Project Ride. Then he introduced the slideshow of Baylee's life in pictures.
• Pastor Steve spoke about Hope & Faith, read 2Corinthians 4:16-5:8 and closed with prayer. The service was wrapped up with dismissing Duane and I and the family to the foyer.

We had lots of time to see and hug everyone (and cry) and listen to stories about how they had been touched by Baylee. It was truly moving and so good to see everyone!

 
 
We brought a lot of Baylee's favorite toys and other special items to place on the table with the urn and photos. (click images to see larger view) 

After everything was cleaned up we went over to Kim's house for a private family reception. Dinner was salad, pasta and bread.

January 30, 2010 @2pm @FBCEG

update about Baylee's service this Saturday

We've had several people ask so we thought we would address all the questions at once.

The service will be approximately an hour. We are anticipating upwards to 1000 people attending, therefore  in order to keep it short we will not have an open mic for people to speak. If you'd like to share something please email it to us and we will add it to our "share" page here on the site. Because of the large number anticipated, we will not have a food receiption. We're going to donate that money to Project Ride instead of purchasing food. We will have a time after the service for everyone to mingle and visit with us. There will be water available and several photo albums for you to look through. There will not be childcare provided. We appreciate everyones prayers, comments and support. We look forward to seeing you on the 30th.

Baylee's Obituary in the SacBee on 1/24/10

Jan 24,2010 Baylee Tadlock Obituary

This is the 2nd time it was published in the local newspaper.

TADLOCK, Baylee Rose
Feb. 14, 1996 - Jan. 9, 2010
At the age of 13, Baylee peacefully passed away in her mother's arms at home. Baylee loved Ariel and riding horses at Project Ride. Baylee is survived by her Mother Cassonda, Father Duane, Grandparents Mel and Juanita Tadlock, Shirley (Jim) Carter-Gill, Mike (Glenda) Carter, Dennis and Geneva Fredricks, aunts and uncles Kim Tadlock, Becky (Scott) Hadaway, Nicole (Jim) Raulien, Crystal (Brad) Langston, Bonnie Carter, numerous great-aunts and uncles and numerous cousins. A celebration of her life is planned at First Baptist Church of Elk Grove, 8939 East Stockton Blvd. Elk Grove, CA, 95624, on January 30, 2010, at 2 p.m. Please dress in your favorite Disney shirt (or casual). Law Enforcement and Military personnel are welcome to wear their uniform of the day. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the Baylee Rose Tadlock Scholarship fund for Project Ride. ( www.projectride.org; 8840 Southside Avenue, Elk Grove, CA, 95624). For additional info go to www.ADreamForBaylee.com.

Published in the The Sacramento Bee on January 24, 2010

 

1/21/10 update

We have found the perfect Urn for Baylee!! It's purple and has the prettiest roses on the front with some very thin lined gold detail on the sides. We found it at an antique store called Holman's in Pacific Grove next to Monterey. We had been looking and looking for days and I finally thought why not ask the Lord to direct us to the perfect one for her. So I said a quick prayer. Then I turned to my left and in front of an antique wheelchair (of all things), just across the isle-way, was a cabinet with purple pieces inside. I motioned for Duane to come over and take a look. We both loved it right away! It was THE one!!!
 

A quick update on the hotel rooms: If you or your friends need to reserve a room there is now a link to the Hilton Garden Inn for a special page they created just for Baylee ---> CLICK HERE You have until January 26th to reserve your room.
OR you can call the Holiday Express to reserve a room as well.
Both hotels are the same special rate.

As promised, This previous post has now been updated.

1/19/10 update

We've been looking 4several days now 2find just the right Urn for Baylee. Some were very pretty but none struck us as THE one. So we r still looking...keeping our eyes open 4just the right one 4our sweet girl. Id really like 2find one w/some purple on it since that was her favorite color.
Its hard 4me 2believe its been over a week already. Duane & I hav been spending lots of quality time 2gether & going places. Not the same without our car all loaded up with Baylee, her wheelchair, her feeding supplies & all her stuff. Time seems to hav slowed down a little bit, too. The days always went by so fast with Baylee. Taking care of her took a lot of time & we worked our routine around her needs. So 2b off & going different places is very strange.

Baylee's Obituary 1/16/10

TADLOCK, Baylee Rose
Feb. 14, 1996 - Jan. 9, 2010
At the age of 13, Baylee peacefully passed away in her mother's arms at home. Baylee loved Ariel and riding horses at Project Ride. Baylee is survived by her Mother Cassonda, Father Duane, Grandparents Mel and Juanita Tadlock, Shirley (Jim) Carter-Gill, Mike (Glenda) Carter, Dennis and Geneva Fredricks, aunts and uncles Kim Tadlock, Becky (Scott) Hadaway, Nicole (Jim) Raulien, Crystal (Brad) Langston, Bonnie Carter, numerous great-aunts and uncles and numerous cousins. A celebration of her life is planned at First Baptist Church of Elk Grove, 8939 East Stockton Blvd. Elk Grove, CA, 95624, on January 30, 2010, at 2 p.m. Please dress in your favorite Disney shirt (or casual). Law Enforcement and Military personnel are welcome to wear their uniform of the day. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the Baylee Rose Tadlock Scholarship fund for Project Ride. ( www.projectride.org; 8840 Southside Avenue, Elk Grove, CA, 95624). For additional info go to www.ADreamForBaylee.com.

Published in the The Sacramento Bee on January 16, 2010

1/16/10 update

Here is the link to Baylee's Obituary in the Sacramento Bee.
Baylee Rose Tadlock Obituary  <--- click here

Baylee's cremation process started at 11:59am and was completed at 2:50pm on January 15, 2010.  It was really difficult knowing that this step was over.

We finished going through all of Baylee's photos. We're planning to have a DVD slideshow at the funeral and upload it online so those who cannot attend will be able to view it.

Baylee's Celebration of Life Service

Duane and I would like to thank you for all your prayers and support. We finally have the funeral arrangements completed. We will celebrate Baylee's healing on

January 30, 2010, at 2:00pm at First Baptist Church of Elk Grove, CA.

First Baptist Church of Elk Grove (8939 East Stockton Boulevard , Elk Grove, CA.) has graciously allowed us the use of their Worship Center . We are asking that you wear your favorite Disney shirt. If you don't have any Disney clothing items business casual will be just fine. Law Enforcement and Military personnel are welcomed to wear their uniform of the day if they so wish.
 
In lieu of flowers please make a tax deductible donation to Project R.I.D.E. We have created the BAYLEE ROSE TADLOCK SCHOLARSHIP FUND for Project R.I.D.E. Project R.I.D.E. (Riding Instruction Designed for Education) provides recreational therapeutic horseback riding lessons to students with disabilities. Project R.I.D.E. Inc. started in 1979 and is now entering their 30th year of recreational therapeutic horseback riding as a non-profit organization. Project R.I.D.E. is governed by an eight-member volunteer Board of Directors who are business owners and community leaders who graciously donate their time. Project R.I.D.E. is one of many therapeutic riding centers in the United States and around the world. They are recognized and accredited through the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association Inc., which trains and oversees instructors and operations of therapeutic riding centers across the United States . They are proud to be a “premier” center, denoting the highest level of safety and quality within the standards of therapeutic horseback riding. Project R.I.D.E. currently serves over 350 students with disabilities, with another 250 on their waiting list. Their youngest students are 3 and their oldest are in their 60s. They come from Elk Grove, Sacramento , and even as far away as Stockton and the Delta. Many of their students attend Jessie Baker School , which is a school within the Elk Grove Unified School District that is exclusively for students with special needs. Jessie Baker is located adjacent to their facility. Students are also referred to them by the Alta California Regional Center , which as of August 1st, 2009 no longer provides funding for students with disabilities so that they can receive the benefits of special therapies, including Project R.I.D.E. Thus the need for the BAYLEE ROSE TADLOCK SCHOLARSHIP FUND. For more information or to make an on-line donation go to www.projectride.org . You can also bring your donation to the funeral or mail it directly to project R.I.D.E. at 8840 Southside Avenue , Elk Grove , CA , 95624 . Be sure to let Project R.I.D.E. know that your donation is for the BAYLEE ROSE TADLOCK SCHOLARSHIP FUND.

You can view a slideshow of Baylee riding horses by clicking here.

For those who may be traveling and would like to stay at a hotel we have established the following special rates. Both hotels are working together and are located at Highway 99 and Laguna Boulevard which is less than 5 mins. from the church. When calling to make your reservation, request the BAYLEE ROSE TADLOCK Celebration of Life rate. Each hotel has graciously offered a special discounted rate for our guests.

Hilton Garden Inn - $89 + Tax
9241 Laguna Springs Drive
Elk Grove, CA , 95758
916-691-1900 ext. 2200
RESERVE YOUR ROOM FOR HILTON GARDEN INN BY CLICKING HERE NOW You have until Jan. 26th to lock in this special rate. You can also call if you prefer.

Holiday Inn Express - $89 + Tax
9175 West Stockton Boulevard
Elk Grove, CA , 95758
916-478-9000 ext. 3103
(PLEASE CALL TO RESERVE YOUR ROOM)

For those of you flying we have been told that American Airlines and Delta may offer a bereavement rate. You will need to ask when scheduling your flight if a discount is available.

Below you will find a link to Google Maps indicating the area around First Baptist Church of Elk Grove and the two hotels we have established special rates.
GOOGLE MAPS LINK TO THE MAP OF THE AREA AROUND FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF ELK GROVE INCLUDING HOTEL LOCATIONS:
CLICK HERE FOR MAP

January 15, 2010

1/14/10 update

Papers are signed and everything is in order for Baylee's final resting place. The most difficult pieces of paper we will EVER sign. We walked over to the crypt before we left to absorb what will take place there in just a few days.

Tonight we met with our Pastor and his wife to discuss all the details of the funeral service. We're still finalizing and will post more details tomorrow, but I wanted to put the date here so you can plan to attend if you'd like to.

Baylee's life celebration service will be Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 2pm at First Baptist Church of Elk Grove, CA.

 

1/13/10 update

Today we spent about 8hrs. going thru lots and lots of photos of Baylee for her celebration service. These were actual photos. We will look thru the digital photos another day. It was good to remember all the events that took place and how hard Baylee had worked.

Tomorrow we have an appointment at East Lawn Memorial Park to sign papers for Baylee's final resting place. The crypt we chose is indoors and near a huge window with lots of sunlight. We weighed the pros & cons of both parks and decided this park was a little closer to us. Duane also has family ties here.

Duane called Human Resources & had them remove Baylee from our health insurance policy.

1/11/10 update

We visited a cemetary yesterday (East Lawn Memorial Park) & 1 today (Chapel of the Chimes-Sunset Lawn). Now we just hav to decide where we'd like Baylee's final resting place 2b. We're also planning for the both of us at the same time so the 3 of us can b together. We signed all the proper papers for Baylee's cremation later this week. We decided she could stay in the clothes she was wearing: one of her favorite turquoise Ariel shirts, her favorite grey stretchy pants, pink toe & heel crew socks, and her hair in a pink pony holder. I took 2 of her favorite little dollies for her 2hold, Sabrina & Strawberry Shortcake. Both them have red yarn for hair. When we left the sun shined for about 2mins, through the grey gloomy sky.

Duane called Gerber Life Insurance Company today 2get the paperwork started.

Baylee Rose Tadlock

Our sweet baby girl went home 2b w/the Lord this morning @944am She went peacefully in my arms which is just what I prayed for. I believe w/all my heart that she waited for that exact moment to go. Please continue 2 pray 4 Duane & I as we go thru these next days. As soon as we hav details about a service I will post the information here. In lieu of any flowers please send donations to Project Ride at www.projectride.org (or by mail) There is a scholarship fund set up in Baylee Tadlock's name. Any comments can be left here below this post. Thank You! We love you!

January 9, 2010

1/7/10 update

Baylee didnt wake up last night tremoring during her sleep, 1st time in a while. When she woke up @930 this morning I gav her a bath & brushed her teeth. It must really wear her out b/c after I got her dressed she fell asleep & I hadnt given her any meds yet. I went 2 the kitchen 2mix up her medicines & by the time I returned she was fast asleep. It only took me abt 3mins. Shes sleepin on her bed here in the livingroom now.

Its more difficult 2pick her up now. I noticed it during the holidays. Her back is very curved (s shaped) & she slumps over forward. Scooping her up is no easy task. She has absolutely no head control anymore either. That was the last main muscle area 2go. Without support her head flops forward & backward just like a newborn. Im always really careful when I pick her up so Im not hurting her.

I weighed Baylee 2day & shes 45 lbs. Thats a 5 lb. loss since I last weighed her in October. Im sure its from not havin any food for the past 14 days. We r both amazed @how tough she is & that shes still holdin on. Ive told Baylee several times that its ok 2go...to grab the Lord's hand with all her strength...that mommy & daddy will be ok...that she needs 2find all her grandparents in heaven & tell them I said they need 2take care of her till I get there....to look for her friends that r in heaven so she'll hav someone 2play with. Its real important to us that she knows its ''ok'' to let go.

1/4/10 update

After giving Baylee the 1st dose of morphine Sunday night, we waited 2c how long it would take 2start working. It was actually pretty fast & lasted her abt 8hrs. She woke up after 5am tremoring. I got up & gav her another dose which lasted her another 8hrs+. At 3pm i woke her up giving her a kiss (oops) so i gav her a quick bath. She fell asleep quickly afterwards just needing the Ativan.

Its easier on me now that I can give her all her meds at once. I had been giving her 1 then waiting, then giving her another. Tracy said it was fine 2give them to her all at once. So glad I asked abt it.

Last night & today has been a repeat of yesterday. 3rd dose given before bed last night & 4th dose given @6am this morning. She is sleeping VERY well with the morphine.

1/3/10 update

Last night's sleep was hard for Baylee. She woke up very early, tremoring so rapidly she couldnt settle down 2get back 2sleep. The first thing I did when I got up was give her some childrens motrin in case there was some pain.

Tracy came by today. She had 2 re-certify Baylee for the 2nd time, this was her 6month visit. I had a bunch of questions ready.

Baylee's bp was 130/110. Extremely high. I think the last couple of weeks it was around 120/80. Her gums have receeded quite a bit. Now I'm seeing very long teeth & her gums bleed easily, even just barely touching them. Its from being dehydrated & all the medicines shes taking. I stopped giving her the extra water on the 27th because she kept burping & spitting it up. The only water she is getting now is what is mixed w/her medications.

I am considering giving Baylee some morphine @night now. I dont think the night time dose of motrin I gave her is lasting as long as it use to. So after talking w/Tracy abt it today, Im going to give her a dose 2nite & see how she does. Tracy wanted 2make sur I didnt feel bad giving it 2her nor blame myself if Baylee were to go shortly after giving her the morphine. I wanted 2know if Baylee's body could get use to the Ativan as well. To the point where she would need a larger dose. Tracy said if I needed to give her more to do it. The best thing for Baylee right now is 2b comfortable, not tremor constantly & sleep. She reminded me Baylee is in God's hands. We all agreed that God just isnt ready for Baylee yet.