In loving Memory of Blayke Smith

Blayke Smith was the purest, sweetest, and happiest soul.  At 15 months, she was tragically lost to a sudden illness.  What was thought to have been a stomach virus by the medical team rapidly progressed to a critical situation.  She was initially hospitalized for dehydration on September 7th; her health quickly spiraled, leading to her being put on life support and going to emergent exploratory surgery on September 9th.  Blayke fought hard, with her parents and five siblings at her side over the next week.  She endured multiple abdominal surgeries, multi-organ failure and many medical interventions in an attempt to save her life.  Throughout this traumatic experience, one of the most difficult aspects was not having a definitive diagnosis, other than septic shock.  Despite her strength, her will, and the love that surrounded her, she passed in the arms of her parents on September 14th.

As you can imagine, Blayke’s parents, sisters and brother are devastated, saddened and confused by this heartbreaking loss.  In the words of her father, my brother,

“Blayke was our everything, the glue that held us all together.  She made our bad days good, and our good days great.”

During this unimaginable time of anguish, we hope this site will not only help with funeral expenses and medical costs, but allow the family to focus on each other and healing as a family.

We thank you so much for your continued thoughts, prayers, love and support.  We are all heartbroken at the loss of this beautiful angel.