Addy Shepard 's mother said her daughter brought joy wherever she went.
Dave and Angie Shepard, along with their son, Jaxson, have known this week would be exceptionally difficult. On July 1, it was a year ago that their daughter and twin to Jaxson lost her short battle with leukemia.
Addy, their spunky nine-year-old, fell ill on June 27, 2024, and went to the emergency room of a local hospital for a bloody nose that wouldn’t stop. Tests were run and within hours, she was then rushed to Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. Nothing could prepare the family for the diagnosis of ALM leukemia that soon followed, or how quickly her condition deteriorated.
The youngster tried a variety of different sports in her young life, including soccer and gymnastics, but softball eventually became her favorite. As a kindergartner, she wanted to be an artist. Family members remember her as loving to paint, draw, make bracelets and being big into arts and crafts. She was daring and liked to try new things, according to her mother. Since her daughter’s death, she’s been told by other mothers that “Addy gave others the courage to be themselves and always accepted them for who they were.”
Early in the Prior Lake Athletics for Youth softball season, Angie recalls her daughter saying her foot hurt, and made an appointment to get it x-rayed in early May. The scans showed no issues and the pain she was experiencing was attributed to overuse from playing softball or growing pains. A month later, the pain still lingered. She was seen by an orthopedic specialist who saw a small, unusual spot and suggested the youngster may have had a small fracture that was healing. Addy was fitted with a boot, but continued to cheer on her team at every practice and game they played.
Sitting on the sidelines was a new and uninvited experience. Addy, known for her pitching skills on Prior Lake’s U10 traveling softball team, was a stand-out player. She was a fierce competitor. In the weeks before she was admitted to the hospital, she chose Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything” as her walk-up song which includes this lyric: “Give me everything tonight for all we know we might not get tomorrow.” Reflecting back to her choice, her mother believes it means so much more now.
“Addy was a force. She accepted everyone as they were and made them feel special,” Angie said. “A neighbor who has a child with special needs told me her daughter only spoke of a few other students, but she always spoke of Addy. She was kind and sweet to everyone. We were blessed.”
For the Shepard family, life went on as usual for the next few weeks following the doctor appointments. In the two days preceding her admission to the hospital, Addy joined her friends for play at a waterpark. Angie said her daughter was eating, sleeping, drinking water and playing, adding that everything was so normal, other than the foot pain.
Memories of the days that followed surface as the anniversary of her passing grows near for her parents. They recall their daughter being rushed to Children’s Hospital, the barrage of tests, meeting with specialists, giving family members updates on her condition and keeping constant vigil at their daughter’s bedside. The day after she was admitted, the decision was made to move her to the intensive care unit of the hospital to be best prepared for any scenario. She was intubated and chemotherapy was started.
Addy went into cardiac arrest early the next morning but chest compressions proved successful in bringing her back to life. The decision was made to put her on a heart and lung bypass machine and keep her on a ventilator. Dialysis treatments were added to assist the functioning of her heart and kidneys. Another surgery was scheduled to reduce the amount of fluids leaking into her abdomen.
Addy’s softball team played their hearts out that weekend, according to Dave, noting they won all of their games and qualified for the final match. While she was not conscious, he still streamed the games through his phone to the television in her hospital room and relayed what was happening, play by play. He said it was a miracle the team made it to the championship round, given their prior record of 11 wins, 26 losses and two ties. As the team’s head coach, he believed players played their best ball as a tribute to Addy. The girls earned a win in the final game and were declared tournament champions.
“They deserved the win, but I know every parent was shocked and proud of their girls pulling this off,” Angie wrote in a CaringBridge post. “Addy was with them and has moved the softball community everywhere across the country. This girl had the ability to connect and bring joy to everyone she encountered. I honestly thought this was a sign from God that everything would work out for Addy.”
It was in the early morning hours the next day that medical staff noticed a change in Addy’s eye response to light. A CT scan confirmed she had a stroke on her right side and there were areas of her brain that were bleeding. Angie recalls telling her daughter that she had fought so hard but didn’t have to fight any more. She crawled into bed with her and fell asleep holding her hand. Doctors later confirmed her eyes no longer reacted to light but planned to do another CT scan. Dave started calling family members at 3:30 that morning.
As she laid in bed with her daughter, she said an image of Shepherd of the Lake Church kept popping into her head. A phone message was soon left for its pastor, Dan Poffenberger, and at 5 a.m. that morning he headed for Children’s Hospital. Medical staff had difficulty stabilizing the child. Poffenberger arrived, baptized Addy, and said a prayer. A few minutes later she was taken off life support, and she was gone soon thereafter.
Her parents want others to know how hard Addy fought to survive. One of Addy’s doctors who treated her at Children’s Hospital attended and spoke at her Celebration of Life service. He said he was humbled by the impact a nine-year-old could have on the world. This spoke volumes to the Shepard family as it was an illustration of who Addy was and the number of people she touched in her short life.
“After she had passed, the mom of one of her friends came up to me and said Addy had a million best friends,” Angie said, adding that she had a variety of different friends, with different interests. “For a nine-year-old, she had so much self-awareness and empathy.”
Jaxson says he will always remember his sister “as somebody who could make you laugh really fast.” Angie agreed that Addy was the funny one of the two, and was known for making comical faces when being photographed. She says it’s obvious how much he misses his sister, which makes her sad. The two were always close siblings, oftentimes slept in each other’s room, and could usually be found hanging out together.
For now and in the foreseeable future, the couple says Jaxson is and always will be their primary focus. They realize there are many future milestones that will bring both joy and grief since Addy is not there to share those special experiences with her brother.
“On the big holidays, it’s difficult to support others,” Dave added. “We miss the ‘normal’ holidays and we still need to figure out what our ‘new’ is.”
The parents have established a non-profit foundation in honor of their daughter. “Addy’s Army” engages in fundraising and support for organizations and individuals that share these goals: making meaningful experiences for children through support for youth organizations, scholarships and individual grants; supporting families during difficult times; and furthering research to treat childhood leukemia.
The Shepards said they were fortunate to be connected with some amazing local organizations. Bryce’s Blessings focuses on providing lasting impact and financial support to bereaved families coping with the loss of a child, especially those dealing with ambiguous loss. The Shepards said they will be forever grateful for the financial and emotional support the Borca family has provided them in the past year and for connecting them with Faith’s Lodge, a place where those coping with the death of a child can find hope, strength and connection. In addition, they introduced them with both the Grief Club of Minnesota and Brighter Days Family Grief Center which offers free counseling and support for those experiencing the loss of a loved one or facing a terminal diagnosis in their family.
They appreciate that Addy continues to be remembered by so many. Within the past several months, two fundraisers were held in her honor, and a softball game was organized in her memory this week at the Pond’s Athletic Complex. Those attending were asked to wear clothing that was purple or orange, her favorite colors.
“Addy changed so many people in the community,” Angie said. “She brought joy everywhere she went. Parents have told us they now parent differently because they realize how precious life is and how quickly it can be taken away.”