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Her Journey
June 14, 2025 - November 5, 2025
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The Beginning
On the early morning of June 14th, 2025 at 4:25 AM, Alicia Mae Lopez entered the world at McLaren Hospital
in Lansing, Michigan. At 6 pounds, 9 ounces, she was perfectly healthy in every way. Her parents, Sarah
and Caleb, welcomed her as their third child together and the fifth child in their beautiful blended family.
From the moment she opened her eyes, something remarkable was clear – Alicia had striking blue eyes,
a beautiful surprise given that both parents have brown eyes. Those blue eyes would become one of her
most captivating features, eyes that didn't just look at you but stared through you, seeing the world
with an intensity and wonder that left everyone mesmerized.
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With long, wavy, thick black-brown hair that framed her face beautifully, Alicia was named after her
great-grandmother, a woman of warmth, kindness, and love. Tragically, her namesake passed away just
one week after Alicia was born, on June 24th, 2025. But in those seven precious days, a torch was
passed – a legacy that the younger Alicia would carry forward in her own brief but luminous time.
"Mommy's little goose"
Her Personality
Alicia was pure joy incarnate. She hardly ever cried. If she wasn't hungry, needed a diaper change,
or was tired, she was laughing, smiling, or simply enjoying the world around her. Her smile was
constant, her laugh infectious and just beginning to fully bloom. To her mother, she was affectionately
known as "little goose," a nickname that captured her gentle, sweet nature perfectly.
She loved mornings and never slept through the night, always making sure Daddy was at attention
with a bottle, a diaper change, or just to tuck her back in. These midnight moments, though exhausting,
became some of the most precious memories – quiet hours when it was just father and daughter, the
world asleep around them.
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Her favorite spot was on the couch watching Barney with her big sister Bean. Purple became her color –
not just any purple, but a royal purple like Barney himself. She loved food, from her bottles to getting
little tastes of solids as she began exploring new flavors and textures. Every feeding was an adventure,
every new taste a discovery.
"Her stare could see right through you"
Her Family
As the baby of five children, Alicia completed their family beautifully. She adored her big sister
Everly (Bean), and her three older brothers: Mateo (Tao, her littlest big brother), Bennett (Ben Ben,
the middle brother), and Elijah (Eli, her biggest brother). Each sibling had their own special bond
with her, their own way of making her giggle, their own precious memories.
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At four months old, Alicia was just beginning to discover herself. She was learning to sit up,
starting to roll over, and had just begun to babble – those first precious sounds that would have
soon become words, then sentences, then stories. She was on the cusp of so many milestones, each
one eagerly anticipated by parents who documented every smile, every new achievement.
"An elephant never forgets"
Her Only Holiday
Alicia experienced only one holiday with her family – Halloween 2025. She was dressed as a strawberry,
adorable and perfect, surrounded by her siblings in their costumes. There would be no Thanksgiving
turkey dinners, no Christmas mornings opening presents, no birthday candles to blow out. But that
one Halloween, captured in photos and memory, showed a baby girl who brought sweetness to every moment.
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The Day That Changed Everything
November 2nd, 2025, started like any other morning. Between 8:30 and 9:00 AM, Alicia was on the couch
next to Bean, who had just helped feed her a bottle. She was happy, smiling with those bright blue eyes,
watching Barney on TV. Her parents were cleaning – Sarah in the bathroom, Caleb in the living room and
kitchen, then moving to the boys' bedroom. As he passed by, he saw her still sitting there on the couch,
and she smiled at him. That was the last clear look he got of her face.
Somewhere between 9:00 and 9:30 AM, Sarah walked by with Alicia. Shortly after, Caleb went to check
on her in their bedroom. What he found changed everything forever. Alicia was lying on the bed, on
her stomach, her face turned toward the window. When he picked her up, there was no resistance, no
tensing, no life. Just weight. He called for Sarah, and within moments, they were performing CPR
while calling 911.
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EMS arrived and rushed her to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. After 40 minutes without a heartbeat,
the medical team managed to bring her back. She fought. Her heart kept beating on its own after that
first shock. But the damage had been done. She was airlifted to Mott Children's Hospital at the
University of Michigan, where advanced care awaited.
For two days, her family held vigil. The EEG showed no brain activity. CT scans revealed traumatic
brain injury that was worsening. Doctors gently explained what everyone could already see in her
lifeless face – Alicia was gone. Her body remained, kept alive by machines, but the bright, curious
little girl who stared through people with those remarkable blue eyes had already left.
"She could save someone else"
Her Final Gift
In their darkest hour, Sarah and Caleb made a decision that honored Alicia's generous spirit. They
chose organ donation, allowing their daughter's brief life to save and improve others. For two days,
they waited for a match, moving between the hospital room and the family lounge, suspended in grief
and hope that something good could come from this tragedy.
During that wait, something remarkable happened at Alicia's Diner in Lansing – the restaurant named
after Alicia's great-grandmother. The family stopped there to make final arrangements before saying
goodbye. They posted a prayer on the wall, and found another prayer from someone looking for an
organ donation. The interconnectedness was stunning, though ultimately that particular person wasn't
the match. But the symbolism remained: Alicia's legacy was already touching lives in unexpected ways.
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On November 5th, 2025, the family gathered for their final goodbye. Alicia lay in her hospital bed
surrounded by her toys, her beloved bear at her feet, with a beautiful view of woods stretching for
miles beyond the hospital tower. Her last recorded heartbeat was 79 beats per minute. She wore a bow,
and the family received a flag in her honor.
The hospital staff created something beautiful – an honor walk. They lined the hallways, holding lights
and phones, creating a path of light as they guided Alicia to her final rest. Her mother, father,
grandparents, aunt, and all the medical staff who had cared for her walked together down the halls,
took the elevator down, and each took one final moment to hold her.
At 2:06 PM on November 5th, 2025, Alicia Mae Lopez left this world.
"She didn't save just one life – she saved a day"
Her First Miracle
As the family stood in the hospital lobby, surrounded by flowers, stuffed animals, and cards, there
was one odd thing – a balloon. Sarah noticed a gentleman nearby with his caretaker, someone clearly
living with cognitive challenges but radiating joy through his laughter. Unprompted, Sarah walked over
and asked if he'd like the balloon.
His face lit up. He said he had to tell his mom that he got a balloon. As they walked away down the
hallway, his screech of pure joy echoed back. That was the first person Alicia helped after she was
gone. She didn't save a life in that moment – she saved a day. And day by day, that's how we all
get by.
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Who She Could Have Been
She would have celebrated her first Christmas in wonder, eyes wide at the lights and colors. Her
first birthday would have been marked with cake smashed on a delighted face. She would have taken
her first steps, spoken her first words – probably "mama" or "dada" or maybe "Bean," her favorite
person to watch Barney with.
That infectious laugh that was just beginning would have filled rooms, hallways, the whole house.
She would have gone from babbling to full sentences, asking endless questions with those blue eyes
searching for answers. She would have played with her siblings, fought with them, loved them fiercely.
She would have started school, made friends, discovered passions.
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Her personality was already showing at four months – curious, intense, joyful, gentle. That stare
that saw through people suggested depth, intelligence, perception beyond her months. She would have
been smart, kind, observant. She would have been someone who noticed the small things, who made
people feel seen, just as she saw them so completely with those remarkable eyes.
The girl named after her great-grandmother would have carried forward that legacy of kindness and
warmth. She would have grown into a woman who helped others, who brought joy, who made the world
softer and brighter just by being in it. She would have lived a full life – love, heartbreak,
triumph, struggle, and joy. She would have been extraordinary in all the ordinary ways that matter
most.
"Four months was all the time she needed to teach us everything"
Her Memory Lives On
The staff at Mott Children's Hospital gave the family a stuffed elephant with a tag that read
"An elephant never forgets." It became the symbol of Alicia's memory – the idea that she would
never be forgotten, that her brief life mattered, that love doesn't end when breathing stops.
Alicia will be laid to rest in the family cemetery in Texas, next to the great-grandmother whose
name and legacy she carried. Two Alicias, separated by generations but connected by love, kindness,
and the profound impact a life can have regardless of its length.
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Through the Alicia Mae Foundation, her legacy continues. Through organ donation, she saved lives.
Through her family's choice to share her story, she touches hearts. Through the memories held by
everyone who knew her – even for just four months – she remains present, loved, unforgotten.
"Forever our girl"
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