A family's bereavement has turned to gratitude and thankfulness toward the thousands of people who supported them in the final days of their daughter's life.
Larry and Julieta Housely loved their daughter Dana Housley more than words could explain.
"I'd thought that I would go to bed last night... thinking I'd be a completely broken man, after losing my little girl, but that wasn't the case when I laid down I went to bed a proud father," Larry said.
While playing in a softball tournament on May 22, Dana, 15, turned to her coach, said she was dizzy and collapsed. She would never regain consciousness.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by one of her coaches to help her family cover medical expenses, Dana suffered a brain aneurysm and lost all brain activity.
After several days on life support, on May 27, Dana passed away at Kaiser hospital in Fontana.
"Although the journey ahead for our family will be unimaginably painful, we now understand we have a family of thousands in the softball community to help us through," her parents wrote on her GoFundMe page.
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Thousands of people, far and wide, took to social media to support the Housleys. Many using the hashtag "#PrayForDana." Softball teams around the country showed their love and support and sent messages to the family on Dana's page or simply tweeted out kind words for her family to read.
"We just didn't realize how many people our daughter had touched," Larry said.
In a mere three days her GoFundMe page raised over $65,000, more than double the goal of $25,000.
The support from family, friends and many many strangers has not gone unnoticed by Dana's family who said it has helped them get through this difficult time.
"We will not forget your love, prayers, and support, nor will we ever forget the wonderful memories of our little girl, Dana Housley #21," her parents wrote.
Dana was a Etiwanda High School student with a 4.0 GPA on the Junior Varsity softball team and shining first baseman for The California Thunder traveling softball team.
