What most teenagers dream of is to go to college, travel the world, and have many friends. 12-year-old Taylor Smith, of Johnson City, Tennessee, was no different. This girl spent her days around her family and friends and loved watching a lot of Doctor Who.
Smith outlined these plans in a letter she wrote to her future self in April 2013. The letter was placed inside a box in her room with the instruction “To be opened by Taylor Smith on April 12, 2023 only (unless said otherwise).”
Unfortunately, she didn’t live long enough to see whether those dreams would be accomplished. Just months after she wrote that letter, Taylor died of complications from a sudden onset of pneumonia.
Her parents, Tim and Mary Ellen Smith, were heartbroken. They couldn’t believe their girl was forever gone.
One day, as they were sorting through her possessions, they found the letter. As it touched them deeply, they decided to share it online and give others some solace.
As she shared her daughter’s letter, Marry Ellen wrote: “I can’t physically resurrect her, I can’t bring her back, but
I’m so grateful people have been inspired by her story.”
Below is Taylor’s letter and the words she wrote to herself.
Dear Taylor,
How’s life? Life is pretty simple right now (10 years in your past). I know I’m late for you, but as I’m writing, this is early, so; congratulations on graduating high school! If you didn’t, go back and keep trying. Get that degree! Are you (we) in college? If not, I understand. We do have pretty good reasoning, after all.
Don’t forget, it’s Allana’s 11th birthday today! Sheesh, 11 already? In my time, she just turned 1! I didn’t get to go to that party though, because I was in Cranks, Kentucky for my first mission trip. I’ve only been back for 6 days!
Speaking of, how’s your relationship with GOD? Have you prayed, worshipped, read the bible, or gone to serve the lord recently? If not, get up and do so NOW! I don’t care what point in our life we’re in right now, do it! He was mocked, beaten, tortured, and crucified for you! A sinless man, who never did you or any other person any wrong!
Now, have you gone on any more mission trips? Have you been out of the country yet? How about on a plane?
Is Doctor Who still on the air? If not, what regeneration did they end it with? You should go watch some Doctor Who! Later though, you gotta finish reading your own words of wisdom!
Do you have your own place yet? If we’re in college, what are we majoring in? Right now, I wanna be a lawyer.
Have you been to Dollywood recently? Right now, their newest attraction is the Wild Eagle. It’s so fun!
Also I think I’m going to sell my iPad and buy an iPad mini, Don’t forget to tell your kids that we’re older than the tablet! Attached I also have a drawing of an iPad, so you can show them.
Well, I think that’s all. But remember, it’s been 10 years since I wrote this. Stuff has happened, good and bad. That’s just how life works, and you have to go with it.
Sincerely, Taylor Smith
Beautiful words from an angel who was taken away from her family too soon!
If you were touched by Taylor’s words as much as we were, please share this story in her memory.
Heartbreaking Decision: Parents Forced to Pull the Plug on 13-Year-Old Daughter After Sleepover Nightmare!
Australia’s Ally Langdon couldn’t hide her sadness when she talked to a mom and dad who had to make the heartbreaking decision to end the life of their 13-year-old daughter.
Their daughter died because of a dangerous social media trend called chroming, and Langdon, who is also a mom, struggled to keep her tears in.
On A Current Affair, Ally Langdon spoke with Andrea and Paul Haynes about their daughter Esra’s tragic death. Esra died after trying a dangerous trend called chroming, where people inhale toxic chemicals to get high.
Esra was remembered as “determined, fun, cheeky, and talented” by the Montrose Football Netball Club, where she was co-captain. She was a young athlete who raced BMX bikes with her brothers and helped her team win a national aerobics championship in Queensland.
Heartbreaking Decision: Parents Forced to Pull the Plug on 13-Year-Old Daughter After Sleepover Nightmare!
Australia’s Ally Langdon couldn’t hide her sadness when she talked to a mom and dad who had to make the heartbreaking decision to end the life of their 13-year-old daughter.
Their daughter died because of a dangerous social media trend called chroming, and Langdon, who is also a mom, struggled to keep her tears in.
On A Current Affair, Ally Langdon spoke with Andrea and Paul Haynes about their daughter Esra’s tragic death. Esra died after trying a dangerous trend called chroming, where people inhale toxic chemicals to get high.
Esra was remembered as “determined, fun, cheeky, and talented” by the Montrose Football Netball Club, where she was co-captain. She was a young athlete who raced BMX bikes with her brothers and helped her team win a national aerobics championship in Queensland.
about:blank
Black Widow: Stream or Download
Deadpool & Wolverine: Watch Now!
FREE Cricket streaming!
On March 31, Esra went to a friend’s house for a sleepover. Sadly, she tried a dangerous activity called chroming, where she sniffed a can of aerosol deodorant. This caused her to go into cardiac arrest and suffer serious brain damage.
“It was just a normal night for her, hanging out with friends,” Esra’s mom Andrea told Langdon in the interview. Her dad Paul added, “We always knew where she was and who she was with. It wasn’t anything unusual… But that night, we got a call no parent ever wants to get: ‘Come and get your daughter.’”
Langdon explains that Esra’s friends thought she was having a panic attack, but after inhaling the deodorant, her body started to shut down and she went into cardiac arrest. None of the friends knew what to do for a cardiac arrest.
When Andrea got to Esra, paramedics were trying to save her and told her that Esra had been chroming, which Andrea had never heard of before.
Esra was taken to the hospital, and her parents hoped she would recover since her heart and lungs were still strong.
After eight days on life support, Paul and Andrea were told that Esra’s brain was too damaged to be fixed, and they had to make the heart-wrenching decision to turn off the machines.
Struggling to find the words, her parents talked about how painful it was to end their daughter’s life.
Esra’s siblings and friends are now on a mission to warn others about the dangers of chroming, a dangerous trend that led to Esra’s death. Chroming involves inhaling things like deodorant to get high, and it caused Esra to go into cardiac arrest.
Esra’s dad said it was incredibly hard to bring family and friends to the hospital for their final goodbyes. “It was so hard to say goodbye to her,” he said. “We laid with her and hugged her until the end.”
Seeing the parents’ pain, Ally Langdon, who has two young kids of her own, couldn’t hold back her tears.
Since Esra’s death in early April, Paul says the family is completely “broken” and Esra’s siblings, Imogen, Seth, and Charlie, are all devastated. Paul said, “It’s been the hardest, most traumatic time for us. We haven’t been sleeping, eating, or smiling. It’s not just affected us, but the whole community.”
Paul and Andrea didn’t know about chroming before it took their daughter, but now they want to raise awareness about this dangerous trend. Chroming uses everyday products like deodorant, paint, or hairspray to get high, and it can cause serious health problems or death.
Paul wishes he had known about chroming so he could have warned Esra. “If we had known about it, we would have talked to her about it,” he said.
Paul plans to help other parents learn about chroming so they can talk to their kids about it and keep them safe. “Parents need to talk to their children about these dangers,” he said.
Since 2009, chroming has caused many deaths in Australia and around the world. It can lead to seizures, heart attacks, suffocation, and more.
Paul said, “We will always remember what we saw. It broke our hearts.”
Please share this story to help other parents learn about the dangers of chroming and protect their children.
Leave a Reply