Natalee Brooklynn Dunn

 

Natalee Brooklynn Dunn, the third of three children, was born on February 7, 2006. Although she was 7 weeks pre-mature,  Natalee weighed  five pounds, two oz and was 18 inches long.

Her life started off like her older sister and brother, in the Neo-natal care unit as they too where born pre-maturely. Natalee was bigger and healthier then her siblings were when they were born. She was only aided in breathing for a few days. She was to little to take a bottle, being feed intravenously for the first couple of days. Once strong enough to drink from a bottle she was able to go home having spent only nine days in the hospital.

Over the months that followed, Natalee grew stronger and stronger. She always had on her apnea monitor, but it rarely went into alarm. Now doing things a normal baby would do, becoming aware of her surrounding, tracking objects, reacting to sounds. Laughing and cooing when being held, she was on her way. Once given the clear, Natalee was taken off of the apnea monitor. Unfettered and free she was blossoming into a beautiful little girl.

July 3, 2006 started out like any normal summer day. The sun was shining and the weather was beautiful. My wife Rosemary and I had plans to watch our Grandchildren, Kelsee, Josh, and Natalee, while our son Fred and daughter-in-law Danielle ran some errands. Plans changed when we arrived, so we took our oldest Granddaughter Kelsee, who was three-years-old at the time, out for the day so Fred and Danielle could get things done around the house.  After a visit at Great Grandmom and Granddad’s, Rosemary and I took Kelsee to our house for some fun in the pool and dinner.

While we were spending time with Kelsee, Fred put their youngest daughter, five-month-old Natalee, down for a nap as he did everyday.  The happy couple then went about their business as usual, cleaning, planning dinner, and playing with their son Josh, who was almost two. As time went by, Fred went to check on Natalee and was stunned to find her not breathing. He yelled for Danielle to call 911 and started CPR, with Danielle joining in shortly thereafter. Once the paramedics arrived, Natalee was rushed to the hospital where a full staff of emergency doctors and nurses took on the fight.

As all of this was going on, Kelsee, Rosemary, our daughter Rachael and I had just finished swimming at our house and were getting ready for dinner when my wife’s phone rang.  The horror on my wife’s face, then hearing her scream, “Who’s dead?”, is something I will never forget. It was so hard to believe, especially when - just moments before - we were laughing, splashing in the pool, and having a great time.  How quickly everything changed. 

When we arrived at the hospital, the medical team was still trying to bring Natalee back, but their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. The look of disbelief and pain on our loved ones faces still haunts Rosemary, our family and me, as do the questions we have all asked ourselves multiple times. Why?  What did we do wrong? What could we have done differently? 

Not a day goes by that we don’t think of our beautiful little Angel Natalee, and how quickly she was taken from us from SIDS.  Not a day goes by that we don’t think of what she would now look like, what her personality would be like, and what her future (and ours) would’ve held for us all.  We miss her, and we will never forget that terrible day in July.

We miss Our Little Angel, Natalee and think of her everyday. We’ll  remember all those precious  moments we had with her and will cherish them for ever. We know that Natalee is watching over us and giving us the courage to meet every new day with a smile.