Annalise Kathleen Ireland

Annalise Kathleen Ireland 13, of Pittsboro, IN was granted her wings and flew into the arms of the angels in heaven, at 8:15 PM on Tuesday, June 11, surrounded by her loving family, at Life’s Journey Hospice House in Avon.

Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at the Funeral Home, where friends are invited to gather with the family from 4pm until the time of the Funeral.

In lieu of flowers, financial contributions are encouraged to be made to the family to assist with medical and final expenses.  Financial contributions may be made via a check or telephone call to David A. Hall Mortuary.

Arrangements are entrusted to Funeral Director, Eric MD Bell, all are encouraged to visit her memorial page on the Funeral Home’s website: www.davidahallmortuary.com

Bitty’s story:

In the AM of July 28, 2005 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Annalise Kathleen Ireland was born. She was so much smaller than her two older brothers and became my "little Bitty". That name would be the name to stick with her for all of her life. Rarely did it seem I would call her by her given name. She was always my Bitty. She was a bright child. Always smiling, always happy. Annalise would always make friends everywhere she went, both young and old.

Annalise was a special child. She had so much joy and so much light. She would see the positive in everything and every person. Not long after she was born we decided to move back to my home state of Colorado. We were there about five years before moving back to Indiana. Annalise not only loved the snow but also loved playing in it. Not only did she love the snow but she also loved music of all types. Anything from compositional pieces from Lord of the Rings, anything by John Williams,or classic rock like ACDC. She started in band playing the flute in her 4th grade year and quickly excelled. As she became more confident in her music she also started becoming more of a leader among her siblings. Whether the boys would like to admit it or not, she was the alpha,but they were her protectors.

In late October 2018 we found a mass on her head. After the ultrasound and CT she was referred to a plastic surgeon to have the mass removed and biopsied. Not long after the surgery we got the phone call no parent ever wants to receive. It was cancer. Soon after, our family was separated and Annalise and I were sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. After more scans, a couple surgeries, and a biopsy of some lymph nodes, her cancer was finally diagnosed as Follicular Centric Malignant Melanoma. The ninth in the world to have a confirmed diagnosis of said cancer. We were absolutely blown away by the pathology report.

For our first four months of stay in Memphis she had many surgeries and sedated procedures, but that didn't steal her shine. Surgeries later, on December 18th, we got the best Christmas present. Annalise was cancer free! She still had so much healing to go from all of her other surgeries, though.  But, we didn't care. She was cancer free. During our time in Memphis she befriended so many other kids and adults there. We even dubbed her the Pied Piper of the Ronald McDonald House. Wherever she would go, there would be a trail of kids following her laughing and having fun. No matter what she went through, or how many surgeries she had, she always had so much joy and positivity. While we were at the Ronald McDonald House of Memphis she would play with all the kids, even though most were less than half her age. She would get them toys, hats, blankets, or even bake for them. That girl was always baking.

In late March of 2019, we got the news that we had been waiting on for months. We got to go home! We surprised her step-dad and brothers, too!  They knew we would be home eventually but never told them when. Annalise's Aunt Tricia helped us be sneaky and got us home without anyone being the wiser. That would be one of the greatest surprises we would ever pull off. We had so much fun with that.

After being home for a week, I had noticed there were now two new bumps on her head. I had called back to St. Jude to inform them and see what the next course of action was. After two whole weeks of being at home we had to go back to Memphis for more scans. When we got there, they did an ultrasound and believed the masses to be cysts.  We came home after a few days’ stay, and then had to come back to Memphis on April 30th for surgery on May 1st.  After that surgery, pathology came back right away. The cancer had come back. More scans had to be done. The first time the cancer was just on her head. This time it was everywhere, including the brain. This was such a heavy blow.

On Mother’s Day, Annalise was seriously ill and had to be sent to the ICU. Her cancer was taking over her body. We tried so many things to help but nothing was helping. We even tried radiation on her belly to help die down the cancer, but in return, only amplified it and made it more aggressive. We had to do another MRI of the brain. Not only had it spread but it had grown, and even more aggressively. There were options of things that we could try but her body was just too weak from everything else that she had been through. No doctor had ever seen cancer like this before. There were five different mutationsof that cancer. There was nothing else that we could do but take her home and make her as comfortable as possible.

On June 11th, 2019, this world lost a beautiful soul and an angel gained her wings. Annalise would never want to be defined by her cancer or any cancer at all. She was a bright ray of light who would always be helping everyone she could. Even if that meant putting her own needs aside, which she would mostly do. She rarely complained about anything, even when she was in the most pain. We have only been in Pittsboro for just under 2 years.  Seven months of that time, Annalise and I were gone in Memphis. She never forgot about her friends and teachers at Tri-West Middle School. In fact she bragged often about them and home. She would never let me cry around her. She threatened to kick me out of the room several times if I did. She wouldn't want me to cry now, even though she knows I am. Remember her, remember who she was and who she still is.