The healing process for a family who has lost a child is never easy. Special or momentous occasions are particularly tough, as grief-stricken parents are often focused on the son or daughter who is missing. Olympic skier Bode Miller and his family are obviously experiencing this hardship right now, as they marked the first back-to-school day since their young daughter, Emeline, died earlier this summer.
The 19-month-old fell into a neighbor's pool and drowned. Despite emergency responders doing everything they could to save her, the baby was pronounced dead soon after the incident. Since that tragic day, Bode's wife Morgan Beck has posted numerous emotional Instagram tributes to the little girl who was taken away too soon.
Earlier this week, Morgan shared several images (two of which were taken one year apart) showing their kids and the kids of family friends packed and dressed for their first day of school last year and this year.
Scroll down for the emotional story and to read Morgan's moving message.
The gorgeous little girl was the youngest of the couple's two children.
Along with Emeline, they share a 3-year-old son, Nash, and are expecting another child in the fall. Bode also has two older kids from previous relationships.
But understandably, the focus has entirely been on Emeline lately, a little girl described by her parents as having "had such a powerful bull-like personality where she just did what she wanted."
The couple has been incredibly open about the circumstances of the accident, as well as their grief, since it happened back in June.
Morgan and Bode broke the news to their fans on Instagram.
Along with a series of photos of their baby girl, both parents posted the following statement:
“We are beyond devastated. Our baby girl, Emmy, passed away yesterday. Never in a million years did we think we would experience a pain like this. Her love, her light, her spirit will never be forgotten.”
"Our little girl loved life and lived it to [its] fullest everyday," continued the message. "Our family respectfully requests privacy during this painful time."
Since then, Morgan's feed has been full of powerful post paying tribute to her late daughter while also working to raise awareness about the dangers of drowning.
Most notably, she shared the photo above — a devastating picture of herself holding Emmy after the accident, as a medical team tried to save her.
Morgan's latest post is just as heartbreaking.
This picture above, the first in a series of three, is from the first day of school in 2017. Obviously, Emmy was too small then to join her older siblings for the big day, but she still had to be in the shot.
The second photo is the back-to-school family picture from this year, taken three months after Emmy's death. Nash's absolutely heartbreaking face says it all.
Morgan's Instagram comments are full of sympathy.
As the family continues to mend from the pain, the good people of the internet continue to flood all of her posts with love and support.
There's not much anyone else can do to ease their pain.
That said, Bode and Morgan are using their tragedy to try to educate others.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the second leading cause of death for children between the ages of 1 and 4, behind only congenital defects. And what most people don't know is that it happens in the blink of an eye — a young child can drown in less than 30 seconds.
"[Talking about the accident] is an obligation to some degree," Bode said in an interview with Today. "I think it does, in some way, help to heal a little bit. That maybe we're preventing it from happening to somebody else."
Morgan works tirelessly to promote water safety information on social media.
In August, alongside a photo of Emeline, Morgan warned:
“Parents, Grandparents, Siblings, Aunts and Uncles, EVERYONE….Please don’t rely on the visual stimulant of water to create your awareness/sense of urgency. Understand that almost 70% of drownings occur when your children are not expected to be near the water. When you think they are in the playroom or on the sofa watching tv. Always be aware of water and place as many barriers between your child and those bodies of water as possible (locks, door alarms, pool fences). None of us are immune to this devastatingly life changing statistic. It can happen so fast and forever change your world.”
By educating ourselves and others about the risks children face near water, we can all help prevent others from having to suffer like this family is.
Please share this story to help the Miller family spread awareness and to honor Emeline's legacy.
