Brooke Desserich > Quotes

“This is the reality of time, it never waits and it never repeats.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“It's funny how you never know how much you can handle until it gets worse. And just when you get used to that, it happens again. But somehow, even with this experience you find a way to make it work because that is how you cope. Not because you deserve it or because you need the experience to set priorities, but because it's the human thing and it is life. And through this experience we will grow, find out what the holiday means and learn to expect more of each other. Together we will use this struggle to make us stronger as a family and support each other when we break down. That is what a family does and how we cope.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Hope is what fuels you, bur hope is also what discourages you. So you continue the day looking for hope but careful to not take it too far and fall into despair.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Everyone else tells us to follow our hearts. I've been listening, but my heart isn't talking. All it does is ache. I had always thought "heartache" was an expression. Now I feel it every day. It is an emptiness in your chest that you try to fill with work, shallow humor and sometimes food, but the reality is that you'll just learn to ignore it over time.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Every action, every decision, is now weighed against severe consequences.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“These are the tears we need more of every day to ensure that Elena wins her fight.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Friends don't have to be the same in order to get along. Sometimes it is the differences that make a friendship work.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Being a dad is about more than the good and the bad, it's also about taking the time to treasure what you have and finding the humor in everyday life. Without it, you'll never make memories.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“There's nothing harder than seeing your child be the victim of something you and she cannot control.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“For next month, this will be our life. One day at a time.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Every picture tells a tale of the happier times - we just never took enough. And although the burdens of today will fade into what we will discover in the burdens of tomorrow, one thing will remain clear: the love expressed in those photos will help us overcome any challenge ahead. Take a picture.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Sometimes I think Elena teaches Gracie caution, while Gracie teaches Elena courage. It's a great combination.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“It's impossible to stop time regardless of how much you love your children. You take pictures, dry the tears, relive the moments and hope that you never forget but at the end of the day, you look forward, stop thinking and keep moving, for that is the only way to survive.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“You can diagnose the disease, but God keeps the time frame secret.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“To be content with out lives and with ourselves.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“That's the mission of a father: to reassure and protect.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“No matter what happened, Dad would be here to save and protect you. And I believed it. It is a simple job. I defeated bullies, darkness and nightmares. I believed that my hands were quicker than lightning and my skin tougher than armor when it came to protecting my daughters. No matter what the threat, I told them that their dad would be there to keep them safe. Little did I know what lay ahead.”
― Brooke Desserich, Notes Left Behind

“Elena's lesson is not one of death and cancer; instead it is one of hope and life. She taught me how to live, how to love and how to laugh. I will never forget that lesson.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“But how do you tell a six-year old to keep going when all she wants to do is stop?”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“While other children anticipate a big cake, a new bike or week long celebrations, we want nothing more than time. And yet it's the one present that I can't buy.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Act first, think later" is Gracie's motto.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Life had new meaning and every action had a purpose.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“It is the feeling of being out of control that hurts the most.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“In order to be a good investigator you have to uncover all the facts.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Time has a way of sneaking up on you even when you don't want it to. I only wish it would also slow down.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Never look at a day and think it is a bad day, because this may be better than tomorrow, so just thank God that you have the day at all.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Hope is the eternal promise.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich

“Elena's smile was enough to warm all of our hearts.”
― Brooke and Keith Desserich