Notes left behind: Elena Desserich’s dying notes of comfort

October 28, 2009 by Baby Chums  
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Elena Desserich

Elena Desserich

Elena Desserich, 5 years old, left behind notes for her family when she knew she was dying of brain cancer.

Elena hid the hundreds of notes everywhere in the house, the first were found in a backpack. Others were hidden between books, in the corner of dresser drawers, between dishes in the china cabinet or between photos stacked away in boxes, even in Christmas decorations.

After learning of her cancer Elena Desserich died within six months of diagnosis. Her father, Keith Desserich, said it was wonderful to find the notes and he hopes to continue finding them. He’s finding comfort in reading them while he works through grief, and feels as though Elena was trying to say it was ok in her passing.

Whilst Elena lived with her cancer, she knew that every day would be a gift, not to be wasted, so she created a to-do list, including swiming with dolphins, drive a car and more.

When her cancer stole her ability to speak, she turned to drawing and painting, her kindergarten passion.

Elena had one of her drawings hung next to her favorite painter, Pablo Picasso, at the Cincinnati Art Museum. The painting titled “I Love You” was the fulfillment of her short, life-long dream.

Elena died two years ago in August 2007, and her family discovered another note this week. The Desserich family has written a book called, “Notes Left Behind 135 days with Elena” which is a collection of the notes from Elena collected so far.

Elena’s legacy is of hope and healing in the face of terrible adversity.

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Comments

9 Comments on "Notes left behind: Elena Desserich’s dying notes of comfort"

  1. clugs on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 12:10 am 

    If you didn’t tear up reading this, something is terribly wrong with you. What a sweet little girl, may God look after her.

  2. Stephanie on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 2:04 am 

    It’s times like these that I hope there is a God for someone to look after her and that she is at peace, but at the same time question why beautiful angels like Elena are taken away from this world oh so too early.

  3. Julian on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 2:48 am 

    Databases such as Medline and Pubmed contain more than sixty articles on the remarkable anticancer properties of antidepressants. Antidepressants kill cancer cells, inhibit their proliferation, convert multidrug resistant cells to sensitive, protect nonmalignant cells from damage by ionizing radiation and chemotherapy toxicity, and target the mitochondria of cancer cells, while sparing those of health ones. Antidepressants can arrest tumors even in advanced stages, occasionally eradicate them, and significantly extend life. Depression significantly increases the risk of cancer, and accelerates and increases mortality from it.
    Killing by antidepressants of the cells of such treatment resistant disorders as gliomas, lung, kidney, and liver cancer, resistant lymphomas, inflammatory cancer of the breast, and multiple myelomas has been documented. In a controlled study, an antidepressant arrested lung cancer in advanced stages, and significantly extended life. More forms of cancer will surely be added to the list. Cancer never was a hundred different diseases, but one disease with a hundred variations. Without public activism, the paradigm shift will be resisted.

  4. Robin on Thu, 29th Oct 2009 5:18 am 

    What a wonderful little girl Lena must have been. My heart goes out to her family for their loss of such a precious little angel.

  5. cindy on Wed, 4th Nov 2009 11:58 pm 

    GOD never closes a door that HE doesn’t open a window. With this liitle girl HE did just that. You may think what a waste of a prescious life to be taken so young. For some GOD alows them to accomplish their life tasks sooner than others. Elena’s life task obviously was to bring happiness to her family and others. Through her notes other lives have been and will continue to be touched ones that would not have been ordinarily. GOD places HIS angles amongst us all the time and she was definitely one of them. I’m only sorry I never met her but after seeing and reading her notes I feel like I have.
    Thank you Eleana for such a beautiful gift that you shared not only with your mom, dad and grace but with the rest of us. I’m glad your in heaven watching out for us.

  6. :) on Thu, 5th Nov 2009 3:21 am 

    That’s so sad that a girl that little to pass away May She Rest In Peace . . . . . . . .crys

  7. :) on Thu, 5th Nov 2009 3:25 am 

    That Is So Sweet That She Took So Many Hours And Days Making Those Love Letters . . Its Like She Knew She Was Going To Die Or Something.I Bet She Is Happy Up There In Heaven . . . . .Sorry Its Just So Sad And Even Right Before She Could Have Her Birthday I Bet If She Was Alive Right Now When She Would Grow Up As A Perfect Loving Caring Adult

  8. Jerome on Thu, 5th Nov 2009 11:58 pm 

    I came to know of Elena from a story that appeared in our local THE TORONTO STAR daily. I was really moved by the story. Elena was such an angel that, although being so little, she could accomplish so much and move so many hearts by her simple expressions of love. Everyone has a lesson to learn from her life.

  9. Ivanka Kauric on Wed, 16th Dec 2009 10:28 pm 

    What a beautiful little girl Elena was. My daughter Victoria was just as loving when she was a little girl. She always wrote notes,drew pictures for me, even bought me a necklace for $96.00 in pennies.
    I almost lost Victoria, her appendix burst at age 3.
    I was lucky, I got to keep my little girl. I am so sorry for your loss.
    Ivanka

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