MANDY: A LIFE
It's very difficult to capture a person's life on a few web pages. Mandy was always moving, always
talking, always so vibrant. But she is gone and we miss her terribly.
Mandy was born on April 23, 1976 at Alameda Hospital in Alameda, California. She grew up with her three
younger brothers, Mickey Jr., Michael, and Brian, and two younger half-sisters, Sabrina and Leslie She was a
wonderful aunt to Sabrina's son, Jeremiah, and Michael's son, Austin. She was also close to her step-mother,
Peggy. Family was very important to her.
Mandy was always outspoken, even at a young age. No one could ever call her shy. She was so open
and loving. She would talk to anyone.
When she was about three years old, I worked at a nursing home. On my days off, she loved going with me to visit with
the residents. She would climb on their laps and have long conversations with them. Being so young, her
conversation was limited but the residents never tired of her. Nor she of them.
I used to take Mandy out several times per week. She loved going "bye byes". She would say,
"Auntie, take me bye-byes - please!" and of course I would. Even going to the car wash was an
adventure for her.
One day when she was about four years old, I was getting ready to take Mandy out for a ride. When it was
time to go, though, I couldn't find her. Everyone at home searched up & downstairs without success. Finally, I decided
to drive around the neighborhood in order to look for her. While walking towards my car, I saw a little figure sitting
on the strip of grass next to my car. It was Mandy. When asked why she was there, she said she wanted to make sure
I didn't forget her!
At about age six, Mandy asked about the "facts of life". I told her I would tell her on her next birthday if she
still wanted to know. I hoped she would forget by then but Mandy had a great memory. On her next birthday, she
told me it was time. I thought of birds, bees, storks, cabbage patches, etc. but couldn't put it all together. Finally, I gently
told her as much as I thought she would understand. ("Mommies & Daddies get married then Daddy puts a baby in
Mommy's tummy", etc). Afterwards, I asked if she had any questions. She said, "Auntie, I think I'm going to be sick!"
We teased her about this for years.
Before we knew it, Mandy was a teen-ager. A typical teen-ager, who knew everything and wasn't When Mandy was in her 20s, she had two beautiful daughters, Mariah (born in 1998) and Adrianna At Christmas 2002, the family got together at Mandy's Grandmother's house for our usual Christmas After the Holidays, Mandy's condition worsened. In February, she was finally diagnosed with
about to listen to anyone older than her. I'm not sure how we made it through some of those days...
although we would give anything to have her back with us now.
(born in 2000). Mandy also began working for State Farm Insurance, in Oakland. She loved her job
and her co-workers. We were all so proud of Mandy for finding a good career.
Holiday. We were all so excited because Adrianna (Didi) was old enough to be interested in
the gifts and not just the wrapping paper & boxes. Unfortunately, there was
also bad news -
Mandy was told she was going to be laid off from State Farm due to the economy
and she had
been having pain in her hips. We had no idea this pain was the beginning of the end of our beloved
Mandy.
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). After being in two other hospitals, she was admitted to UCSF.
They tested Mandy's brother, Mickey Jr., for a bone marrow transplant and he was a perfect match.
Unfortunately, the surgery could not be done due to her condition. Although the doctors and nurses
did everything they could, Mandy slipped into a coma and died shortly after midnight on
August 4, 2003.
