Tim Schmanski's blog

Today marks the 5 year anniversary of Tori's brain injury and certainly tears were shed once more... But we chose to celebrate our time together as a family and begin our Father's Day with steak and salmon on the BBQ and watching Tori's favorite movie "She's the Man" which just 'happened' to be playing on ABC tonight. We love and miss you greatly Tori and can feel your presence. We look forward to being with you again.

Thank you all for your love and support. It's still very difficult for us all but "one day at a time" is the only mantra we can now follow.

With love,

The Schmanski Family

Heaven's not a place that you go when ya die it's the moment in life when ya actually feel ALIVE.
-Tori Schmanski (early 2005)

Thank you for your patience and I have finally included the audio recordings and other items for Tori's Celebration of Life service below. I sincerely apologize for the delay. They have been ready for some time though I haven't in my ability to accumulate and present them for all of you. I tried many weeks ago but struggled greatly and just needed some time and to make it through this difficult holiday season first. We love and miss you so very much Tori...

Pages from Tori's wonderful Memorial Book will hopefully be posted on this page shortly as well.

Thank you all once more for the love, prayers and support for Tori and our family. It is greatly appreciated and we are truly blessed to have all of you in our lives.

Sincerely and forever grateful,

The Schmanski Family

Funeral Program (PDF)

Lyrics (PDF) from the songs played during the service

Tori's poem From Losing You (PDF) that was recited by Whitney and Brendan

Audio Recordings:

Disc 1 Track 1 (2:13) - Bishop Bob Cluff, Family Prayer - Todd Schmanski

Disc 1 Track 2 (39:19) - Bishop Bob Cluff opening, Opening Prayer - Mark Harris, Music 'Victoria' by John Mayer, Eulogy - Chris Dowling , Tribute - Whitney and Brendan, Tribute Song - Dance Company friends 'Praise the King', Tribute - McKenzie Lambright and Kourtney Boyack

Disc 2 Track 1 (38:24) - Tribute - McKenzie Lambright and Kourtney Boyack (cont), Poem - Sandy Schmanski, Speaker - Mark Harris, Music 'Hear you hear me' by Jimmy Eat World, Closing Prayer - Janine Schmanski Kopff, Hymn - 'God be with you till we meet again'

Disc 2 Track 2 (4:10) - Dedication of grave - Mike Newsome

The head panel tree of life (PDF). Inspired by Whitney and Maria from all the things Tori loved, was designed and created by Jakub Steiner.

Here are some select photos from the service as well taken by Eric Ward.

Thank you for all of the love, support and sympathy our family has received over the past nine days since Tori's passing and we are very grateful for all of those who could attend Tori's viewing, service, dedication and luncheon afterward. We consider all of you as part of our family.

We would also like to especially thank Paul and Sandy Schmanski for everything they have done for Tori and us over the past 4.5 years and for all of the preparation last week for the celebration of Tori's life. We love you both so much!!

To Guy Lunardi, you are and always will be a part of family and your heart, kindness and generosity are boundless. You amaze us continuously and we love you more than you can imagine. Guy also put in so much time and effort in making Tori's life celebration so special.

To Marilyn Hess who has also supported Tori and our family for many years, you are the ultimate example of what a friendship should entail. We love you so much as well and thank you for all you have for us during this very difficult past week.

Pictures, video and audio was taken during Tori's celebration of life and I will be putting together a presentation for all of those who could not attend over the next couple of weeks. It truly was special and I will share the celebration with all of you.

If you wish to see many of the wonderful pictures now please use Facebook and add 'Tori Schmanski' as a friend and I will approve the friendship.

Thank you all once more,

The Schmanski Family
Tim, Maria, Tori, Whitney and Brendan

Thank you all for the unbelievable outpouring of love and support for Tori and our family through many channels including the www.pray4tori.com site, Facebook accounts, telephone and email. We are deeply touched, sincerely grateful and truly blessed and our appreciation cannot be described in words.

I finished writing Tori's obituary below at 3am this morning and we have now finalized it through meetings with the our local church, mortuary and the cemetery. Maria and I want to express our deepest sympathies for any parent who has had to go through all of this and bury their child... It truly is a heart wrenching and unnatural process that we wish no parent would have to endure.

Please visit the Facebook Event we have setup for Tori's Funeral and let us know if you are attending: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=176428468837&ref=mf. Please spread the word on this event as well. A wonderful tribute was produced for Tori, you can see it here (wmv). A news story on Tori was broadcast on KSL TV here and the following newspaper articles were published as well - Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, Daily Herald.

Our beloved Tori Schmanski passed away Saturday, November 7, 2009 and is now dancing with angels.

Tori was a beautiful and vibrant person who had an incredibly positive and inspirational impact on so many people during her short time with us all. She was very compassionate, a remarkable leader and her wonderful smile and charismatic personality naturally drew others to her. Her life revolved around her friends and family whom she loved so dearly. She will live eternally in the hearts of all she touched.

She was also independent, very intelligent, articulate, athletic and confident in her abilities which allowed her to excel academically and in everything else she pursued including her passion for dance. In addition she enjoyed snowboarding, family vacations, computers and the internet, listening to and writing music, all of her amazing friends and lastly boys much to the dismay of her parents at times... She had an ardent zest for life and celebrated it with each and every moment.

Tori was truly a hero who chose the utmost sacrifice of her life when faced with extreme adversity. True to her character, she always thought of and placed others before herself and we are forever grateful for her courage and unselfish act of love in helping her sister and cousin first and foremost on that tragic Father's Day, June 19, 2005 where Tori sustained an anoxic brain injury that took her livelihood but not her incredible strength, determination and will to live. Tori, thank you so much, you are the ultimate example of how we should all lead our lives and you will forever be in our hearts and souls.

For the thousands of caring and devoted people who have followed Tori's story (www.pray4tori.com) over the past 52 months we would sincerely like to thank you all for the love, prayers and support you have provided for Tori and our family. We are truly blessed and your presence was felt each and every day. Every one of you has made a dramatic impact on our lives. Words cannot really express how eternally grateful, appreciative and thankful we are for everything that has been done for Tori and our family.

We would like to extend a very special thank you to all of those who provided care and support for Tori including her home nurses, therapists and teachers and especially the outstanding and unsurpassed medical staff at the Primary Children’s Medical Center and Shriner's Hospital in SLC. All of you are truly angels among us.

Tori is survived by her mother Maria (Harris) and father Tim, siblings Whitney and Brendan as well as her grandparents Paul and Sandy Schmanski, and Rex and Lois Harris of Delta, UT. Additionally Tori is survived by numerous loving aunts, uncles, cousins and incredibly caring and supportive friends. Thank you to ‘The Dance Club’ girls and families whom we love so much!

A celebration of Tori’s life will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, November 13, 2009 at Windsor Stake Center 1600 N 60 E Orem, UT 84057.
The family will receive friends Thursday evening November 12, 2009 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Walker Sanderson Funeral Home 800 N 646 E Orem, UT 84097 and again at the Windsor Stake Center prior to the funeral service on Friday at 9:30 a.m.
Internment will follow the services in the Orem City Cemetery.
Friends can also call on a light luncheon after the service held at the Windsor Stake Center.
In lieu of flowers please donate in Tori's name to the Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, UT.
Online condolences may be shared www.walkerfamilymortuary.com

We love you Tori and know you are whole so dance, dance, dance once more!!

With great despair and sadness I must announce that Tori has unfortunately passed away early this afternoon....

Her courage and strength has inspired us all and she truly is our hero and always will be. She is deeply loved by us all and will be missed greatly but she is at peace now and DANCING ONCE MORE!!

Please keep her and our family in your thoughts and prayers and we are eternally grateful for all of the love and support you have provided us all.

WE LOVE YOU TORI!!!

Sincerely,

The Schmanski Family

Tim, Maria, Tori, Whitney and Brendan

Tori is home once more!!! YAY!!! :) Tori made it home about 1:30pm today and is resting comfortably tonight.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support and a BIG 'Thank You!!' for the medical staff at the Primary Children's Hospital in SLC!! Your care and support of so many children is unparalleled and we are forever grateful for what has been provided for our beloved daughter Tori. All of you are truly 'Angels' among us.

Thank you all once more and I promise to update more frequently whether good or bad or neither.

The Schmanski Family
Tim, Maria, Tori, Whitney and Brendan

Tori unfortunately didn't make it home today and we opted for one more night here in the hospital as we await new medical equipment getting delivered at our home. She is doing very well though and her breathing and alertness are back to her 'normal' levels. So we plan to be discharged first thing tomorrow morning for home sweet home!! :)

Thank you so much for your love and support!!

The Schmanski Family
Tim, Maria, Tori, Whitney and Brendan

Tori is off the BiPap system and breathing on her own with 4 Liters of oxygen through her nasal cannula. She is maintaining a 92% blood oxygen level and if she does well tonight we are all going back home tomorrow!! Please continue to keep Tori in your thoughts and prayers!!

The Schmanski Family
Tim, Maria, Tori, Whitney and Brendan

Tori remains in the ICU but is still slowly improving. They are removing oxygen assistance in small increments. Her 72hr H1N1 test also proved negative thank goodness!! Hoping to remove the c-Pap mask tomorrow and get her out of the ICU at least. MAria and I are getting ready for another fun night of sleep in the guest room here....

Thank you for all of your support!!

The Schmanski Family
Tim, Maria, Tori, Whitney and Brendan

Tori remains in the ICU but her breathing and awareness is steadily improving. She does run slight fevers now and then but all tests are negative for pneumonia or H1N1. H1N1 can only be officially ruled out after 72hrs so she will still have some more time in the ICU until she is cleared....

She is also getting precautionary antibiotics at this time and they continue to clear her lungs of very thick secretions. They are thankfully pulling less and less out each time and reducing her oxygen assistance as well.

So all positive news at this point as she continues her recovery from this latest episode. We remain very eager to leave the PCMC as there is an extreme amount of Flu, H1N1, Influenza and other contagious cases throughout the hosptial. We remain masked at all times and the PCMC will not allow visitors that are 14 or under. No doubt the sooner Tori, Maria and I are out of here the better.

Thank you all for your love and support.

The Schmanski Family
Tim, Maria, Tori, Whitney and Brendan