Eric Clapton said it best
by Danny Altano
In shock strange as it seems.
I spent 23 years watching CF ever so slowly take my daughter’s life.
Never her spirit.
Never her love.
Never her gratitude.
Never her lust for life.
Never her kindness.
Never her beauty.
Never the light in her eyes.
Never her concern for others.
Never her creativity.
Never ever her smile.
She never gave anything to her disease except every ounce of courage a person could possibly have. Enduring tremendous pain and suffering just to breathe.
“It’s OK Dad, I’m OK don’t worry”.
She always protected me
because she’d say I was sensitive and cried too easily.
A part of me last week, watching the final chapter unfold, kept thinking, how did this happen? While another part knew exactly how it happened. The last two years there was a more rapid decline, but in the last three months it became a freight train out of control. The best medical care in the world could not stop it or even slow it down. We always knew in our hearts this could be a possibility, but I guess to cope you allow denial to lull you into safer place, at least for a time.
We were blessed with a very special situation with many silver linings. I wholeheartedly believe we made the best of it, especially because of the love and dedication of Gianna’s mother Sydney and sister Marissa. We are the luckiest family for being able to have Gianna so close in our lives for as long as we did.
“And I know there will be no more tears in heaven.”
