Honoring Nerissa: A Joyful Spirit Remembered

Victor (Nerissa's dad): Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to do one of the most unbelievable things that I've ever done. A torturing thought that has come to pass. On Sunday, December 22, 2024 at approximately 7:13pm, my youngest daughter, Miss Nerissa Naomi Borders passed away at the age of 4. She had a seizure that just went downhill. She passed away in the care of the emergency team at the hospital. What was a life saving attempt, ended up being my baby girl's demise. Her heartbeat slowed and she was asphyxiated by her own vomit. My heart is sunken at this moment, as I never thought I'd be a part of the lost child club. I remain faithful and trusting God Almighty! But I'm definitely crushed.

Shakana (Nerissa's mom): To understand how wonderful Nerissa was you'd have to understand that Nerissa was beautiful and strong from the day of conception. We ended up pregnant in the year 2019 and we were very homeless. I was going to school at AIU pursuing my BFA in Fashion Design and Marketing and also working part time at a daycare. I was scared because of our living situation at that time and I feared a miscarriage. I wasn't sure if I even wanted to be pregnant because I didn't want to be in the streets while pregnant and still be in that position when she was born. Nonetheless we embraced it, hoping for a boy to evenly divide the amount of children we had into 2 girls and 2 boys. She changed everything, and when I heard her heart on the monitor it was strong and healthy melting away some of the disappointment of not having a boy child. ❤️

You might not get what you want all the time but you always get what you need and Nerissa truly was what her name meant. She was a hidden treasure. After getting housed in February 2020 I had Nerissa May 30, 2020. It felt amazing to be secure somewhere for her to come home to. I graduated with my BFA 2 months after.

From the day she was born she smiled. She seemed so joyful after such a time of hardship that we experienced. It's as if she said to me in spirit "Mommy we're okay, calm down."

As she got older she showed signs of some delays. At the age of 15 months she was diagnosed with epilepsy and a Speech Delay that were all discovered in later years to be connected to the CACNA1A gene that runs in my side of the family. These things never stopped Nerissa from absorbing tons of learning though and being her happy and pleasant self. The speech delay caused me to extend beyond baby sign language and extend my vocabulary of words in ASL for her understanding. Immediately, Nerissa caught on often calming tantrums before she was comfortable speaking English. She was bilingual by the time she was two knowing both ASL and English. Her favorite shows that encouraged ASL growth included "Signing Time", "Songs for Littles" and "Jingle Jacqui". She took a liking to science and frequented episodes of "Mega Wow" and would try to "experiment" around the house in a mischievous and curious way. Of course this means she would get in trouble for mishaps around the house and write on the walls in addition to other science experiments she would try to imitate without permission.

She used to love activities that involved fashion and beauty even at the age she was which also became a part of her mischief. Her interest was expressed in these things by coloring in the eyelids and lips on her dolls and sometimes her siblings with markers. When she was with her older sisters she enjoyed getting her finger nails painted.

I often said before she was even born that she'd love science and that I'd need a cosmetologist for my Kana Wear LLC brand. And although she manifested all the right things during her lifetime her life was cut short. But just like my husband says she was a happy child. She loved to learn, play and explore. Even though she had epilepsy and an expressive receptive disorder, these things never stopped her from being filled with joy. She never suffered with epilepsy or a speech delay. These things may have limited her and caused her occasional struggles but she still persevered through them with joy and curiosity. And on the Sunday she died she left this earth with the same strength she entered into it with... And she took a part of my heart with her when she went.

Your donation would help me and my family put my baby girl to rest properly. Giving her a proper burial and allowing us to visit her year after year in the cemetery.

It's unfair the way my baby girl passed away on Sunday after having such an amazing day. She didn't deserve to die this way and I'm hurt and confused about it every day I have to live without her.

(Victor) This is just an overall summary of how beautiful and indeed gifted and talented my baby girl was. We're devastated that we're even writing any of this in past tense, but nonetheless, we still praise God anyhow! We're distraught, we're confused, we're in despair. Thank you to all for taking time to read about our baby and for your donations. We want to make sure that we leave you with multiple options to donate. You can give here on GoFundMe.

You may also give directly to the mortuary that is servicing her:

Watkins Funeral Home McDonough Chapel

96 S Zack Hinton Pkwy, McDonough, GA 30253

678-884-5177

You may also give directly by CashApp or PayPal:

CashApp: $VBordersPCM

PayPal: Victor Borders, Jr. viccieboysmith at Gmail

Thank you and God bless!

-Rev. Victor Borders, Jr.