The Power of One

On March 27...
One baby girl with a heart of gold...
And a will of steel...
Named after the greatest jazz singer of all times...
Received her so well-deserved wings...

On April 4, it was so clear....
Clearer than it had ever been...
That one little being...
Brought together so many people...
A hundred people...

People who conceived her...
People who are related to her...
People who loved her...
People who cared for her...
People who tried to save her...
People who looked after her...
People who prayed for her...
People who are her friends...
People who she touched with her smile...
People who's hearts melted when they saw and heard of her story...
People who called her a Saint...
People who did not know her but understood how great an impact Ella had all around her...

On April 30...
I publicly spoke of Ella's brave fight for the first time...
On a radiothon to raise funds for BCCHF...
And where I asked donors to help...
Ensure that no parent at BCCH goes without a chair to rock their baby... their child...
And then the phone began to ring....
And it rang...
And rang...

On June 14...
People came together...
To walk in Ella's memory...
After having raised thousands...
In tribute to her life....

On August 7...
On Ella's first birthday...
People celebrated a life so precious...
Reminiscing about how happy she made all...
And people generously donated...
Dollars and gifts in her memory...
For children of BCCH to have a brighter day...

By September 4...
Hundreds of gifts were distributed...
Throughout BCCH...
In memory of Ella...
Creatings smiles and giggles all around...

Yesterday, a request came....
And contact was made...
To seek donations of rockers...
For ICU at BCCH who desperately needs them...

Today, it was like a bolt of lightning...
That a few days from the six month anniversary of Ella's passing...
My one and only little angel continues...
To give me the strength and the sense of purpose...
I need to honour her and help BCCH kids and families...
Live a happier life....

Today Ella's Tribute Fund was committed...
For rocking chairs for ICU...
Today I participated in a research project...
For science to help mothers conceive...
Today, BCCH friends remembered my Angel with me...
Today Ella's beau, Gavin, fell asleep so soundly in my arm...
While his mom and I just enjoyed each other's company...

And at the end of the afternoon, as Gavin's started to wake with a giggle and smiles...
Ella Fitzgerald was playing in BCCH...
Just as it had at home and in the ICU throughout Ella's last week on earth...
This one song that more than any others connects me to my daughter...
And my heart filled with joy...
My eyes with tears...
"... the memory of all that
No they can't take that away from me
The way your smile just beams
The way you sing off key
The way you haunt my dreams
No they can't take that away from me..."

The power of my one little Ella is beyond...
Beyond what I'll ever imagine...
As she has touched people we love and some never knew...
Motivating so many more to live better lives...
And enabling me to create a foundation in her name.

That's the power of one...
One little rock-solid angel named Ella...

ELLA - Everyone Loves Little Angels