It had been a normal day. Mike and Vicki Simich arrived back to their home after an afternoon of shopping and a pleasant lunch. Nothing was out of place. Mike went down to his office to get things ready for his upcoming business trip and Vicki went to go get ready for their grandson’s hockey game, a usual Sunday event. When it was finally time to leave she went down to gather her husband of over 50 years and found him napping. Several failed attempts at trying to wake him up later, she called 911. This was no ordinary day.

Vicki waited. Alone. Praying. Her family arrived soon after. Her son and two daughters, as well as her 10 grandchildren, huddled together in her basement living room, grasping each other for whatever hope they had left. A long 30 minutes passed, and the lead EMT stepped out of the room to speak to them.

“Time stood still in that moment, the minute I saw his [the lead EMT] face any hope I had was drained. I knew he was gone,” said Vicki

There was nothing they could do. He offered the family support but it was clear that all they needed at this time was each other. This was Feb. 19, 2017. A new chapter was about to start, and it wasn’t a very pretty one.

The New Chapter

Since that day not one person in Vicki’s family has been the same, but Vicki has taken the biggest toll. Mike and Vicki had been together for over 50 years, since Vicki was 16 years old, and she has not had to live a day without him since then. Waking up each day was a struggle by itself. His side of the bed would forever be empty, she would no longer have to complain about his snoring or how they had to change the mattress to accommodate for his back pain. She could no longer bear to stay in the house, so she moved herself up to her cabin for the summer. She couldn’t bring herself to eat because she always felt sick.

“We were all worried about her, she had lost her appetite and she wouldn’t come home from the Cabin, she was losing herself. We didn’t know what to do. Everyone was hurting and grieving in their own way but we [Vicki’s children] had to find a way to support our Mom too,” Vicki’s oldest daughter Kristy Beissler said.

As the family continued to go through life, they continued to grieve the loss of their husband, father and grandfather. Each holiday, a dark cloud of grief loomed above them. Instead of celebration and excitement, there were feelings of loss and wishes for what could have been.

“It’s hard you know? He was ripped from us so early and many of us [Vicki’s children] have a lot of regrets about how we spent these last few years with our father. I don’t think I have even truly accepted that he is gone,” Vicki’s son, Chad Simich said.

They knew they had to find a way relieve Vicki from this grief that was very obviously hanging over her head. It was with this intention that her youngest daughter, Lena Motz, decided that for Christmas she was going to give her mom something to fill the space of such a big loss, so Lena and her husband bought a small morkiepoo.

“It was a stretch, my husband and I knew that, but she [Vicki] has always needed to care for something, it’s why her and my dad [Mike] worked. We decided that it was worth a shot,” Lena said.

A Change

On Christmas day Lena’s family arrived at Vicki’s house, the place where it all started. In order to keep the puppy a surprise, they got Vicki to sit down and close her eyes with the excuse that her present was going to be too big to wrap. They had to give it to her right away. Vicki was hesitant at first. After all, what could be so big that it couldn’t be wrapped in some way? Once she was sat down and her eyes were closed, Lena’s oldest daughter brought in the small, one and a half pound, black, puppy and set it in Vicki’s lap.

“As soon as he was in my lap I realized why they made me sit down. I actually felt kind of ill. I was slow to open my eyes to be honest, and as soon as I did my daughter[Lena] rushed to my side and just said she was sorry.” Vicki laughed to herself remembering the exchange

The family fell in love with the puppy within minutes, and it didn’t take long for Vicki to fall in love either. As Christmas day progressed into Christmas night she wouldn’t let the puppy go. The Christmas holiday transformed from one more holiday without Mike, to a holiday celebrating new life.

Once the puppy came into Vicki’s life she has seemed to come back to life according to her three children. Not only is her appetite back and felt comfortable and wanted to be at home, but she even began taking regular risks like reaching out to friends and going out.

“He[the puppy] kind of changed my life, he makes me feel excited for each day and he has given me a new purpose. I just feel happier with him by my side! I never realized how important it can be just to have a companion,” said Vicki