This book is one of a few that will really grab you by the heart and take you on an emotional journey. The story of 5 year old Elena Desserich is both devastating and touching. We are reminded through the notes of parents Brooke and Keith (as well as a few from Elena herself)of just how fleeting life can be. Their world is turned upside down from the moment they learn of Elena's disease. The book shows the immense struggle of parents trying to cope with decisions that could have life changing impacts on their daughters health. We are given a glimpse into a world most of us hope and pray we never experience. We learn a lot about the personalities of Elena and Gracie, and through the journal we are able to see a small part of their daily lives. The pictures also speak volumes for the story. The book contains notes and drawings from Elena herself, but also photos that allow us to see the physical effects that her treatments cause.
To say the story is an important one would be an understatement. I think the reader will appreciate learning how Brooke and Keith cope with this terrible tragedy, and we can all take a few lessons from not only them, but also Gracie and specially Elena. Notes Left Behind will not only be hard to put down, but it will have you re-evaluating your priorities when it comes to your children. I believe the legacy left behind by Elena and the struggle of the family will be far reaching and have more impact than they could have ever imagined. So, Keith and Brooke, thank you for sharing such a difficult story. All four of you are heroes in my opinion. The story is personal, but until a cure is found, more families and children will experience the same circumstances, and that is the real tragedy.
A Cincinnati couple bravely and lovingly recorded the last months of their six-year-old daughter's life after she was handed the devastating prognosis of terminal brain cancer. A trip to the doctor's office to treat Elena's strep throat resulted in an MRI that revealed a large tumor lodged within the walls of Elena's brain stem—in the worst place with one of the worst tumors out there. The kindergartener, who also had a younger sister, Grace, was given three to six months to live. A miracle was what the family hoped for, traveling to Memphis for six weeks of an experimental treatment involving intensive radiation, chemotherapy and tests; already Elena's speech, mobility and ability to eat had been affected, symptoms of the tumor's progression that would recede and recur over the next several months. The parents kept this diary from November 29, the beginning of their daughter's treatment, until her death August 11, Day 256, written in alternating POVs (mostly Keith's; Brooke's is rendered in italics), even recording some of Elena's own musings, such as that all she wanted was to be normal. The parents remained resolute in her treatment, even upbeat despite the anger Keith felt at the unfairness of this disease. Instead of planning their daughter's future, the Desseriches sadly found themselves counting [her] days. This heartbreakingly forthright journal helped the authors push back that second-worst day—when the memory of their daughter would be ...
