Rachel and Rebekah Darrington

playing peek a boo with Rebekah
Rebekah and Katelyn

I have waited to write this post for awhile because I wanted emotions to be a little less raw for Katelyn.
When Katelyn moved to Declo last year she became friends with Rachel and Rebekah. She immedaitely loved these girls. She wanted to be with them and help take care of them. She has become attached to these special spirits and their helper Mrs. Harmon. She helped them in class.She played with them during recess. Katelyn was always concerned for their well-being. She was worried when they had to make trips to the hospital. This year was no different. They were able to be in the same class this year. Rachel and Rebekah suffer from a genetic disease called Metachromatic Leukodystrophy. They are both in wheelchairs. They cannot move or talk. Their family has a total of 6 children. 5 of the 6 have the disease. 2 of their childern have already died from the disease. The kids at school love to try and make them smile by tripping in front of them or playing peek a boo.
Rachel had ended up at Primary Children's several times, but battled back everytime. At Christmas time, Katelyn wanted to give a present to them for Christmas and after watching them at school we decided to make them lap quilts to keep them warm during the tranfers between buildings or at home. Katelyn and I worked hard to cut and tie them over the weekend and she proudly presented them to at school on Monday. She loved giving these blankets to them because of her love for them. In January, Rachel ended up in Primary Children's again and this time struggled to battle back from pneumonia. I gently told Katelyn that she could pass away because of how weak her body was becoming. She said she knew that. Rachel did come back to school for about a week and then ended up in the hospital once again. At the end of Jan., early on a Tues. morning Mrs. Harmon called me to tell us that Rachel had passed away during the night. She asked if I would tell Katelyn before school, so she would hear about it from her mom. Katelyn fell into a heap on the bedroom floor, but she did go to school. I told her that it may be good to go to school and be with her friends and talk about it. Her teacher and Mrs. Harmon did a fantastic job talking to the kids and they wrote letters that day and make a giant paper bracelet for the Darringtons. She was very strong. She was asked along with the achievement day girls(from their ward) and another good friend(from school) to sing at the funeral. The funeral and viewing was hard, but was a wonderful celebration of her life. I know my own mother would be pleased with one of her grandchildren taking these special children under their wings and loving them. She always loved these special children herself. Thank you Katelyn for your loving spirit who wants to always love those around you. Thank you to the Darringtons who let my daughter get close to their daughters. So that she learns to love and serve other children of our Heavenly Father.