Sara Showalter Ablard ’92 lost daughter Sadie after the 5-year-old fell and suffered a brain injury while roller skating in August 2011. Today, Sara is working to give hundreds of children a smile as bright as her child’s.
More than 24 hours had passed since the roller-rink party when Sadie first said her head hurt. Sara called the pediatrician and mentioned the falls, but after that long, the doctor wasn’t concerned.
So, Sara gave Sadie some Tylenol and started a DVD. Within the hour – The Bee Movie still playing – Sadie began to lose consciousness.
Sara called 911.
A helicopter flew Sadie to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where doctors discovered a ruptured blood vessel in her brain. Sara braced for the worst, but before – and after – surgery, the doctor reassured her.
“I remember the look on his face when things started to go south,” Sara said. She and Sadie’s father are divorced.
Cerebral edema, or swelling, was putting pressure on Sadie’s brainstem, compromising critical functions. Her body was trying – but failing – to recover. During the next 12 hours, her heart would stop beating. Again and again. Until she was gone.
In a way, Sara’s heart stopped beating then, too.
“Nothing meant anything,” she said.
The mother in her might’ve given up, but the therapist couldn’t.
“I know what’s on the other side,” Sara said. “I knew if I crawled in bed, I wouldn’t get out. It’s easier just to keep going.”