]]> http://cassandrayazziehotchkiss.com/great-photo-of-jason-cas/feed/ 1 http://cassandrayazziehotchkiss.com/article-about-cassandra/ http://cassandrayazziehotchkiss.com/article-about-cassandra/#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:20:12 +0000 Becky Hotchkiss http://cassandrayazziehotchkiss.com/?p=128 This article was sent to us by its author, Mari Villaluna, of POOR Magazine Online.

Article about Cass.

Thank you for sharing, Mari.

Dante is out of Intensive care!  If you could see the difference between him one week ago and today you would have a hard time denying the power of prayer.  He is going to be fine.   He isn’t talking too much yet but that is really his character.  We still have a tough road ahead explaining to him about his mom.  He was so happy to be coming to live with us and you could really feel his little heart being made whole again with him reuniting with his mom and brother in our family.   I am working with Roger and Terry as best as I know how to see that his mom’s wishes for him are carried out.  That he grows to know his culture and people.  That he can experience the amazing and powerful impact his mom had through her friends and mentors.  That he knows the power that honest and sincere prayer carries with it and that he has that in his little toolbox for life.

Noah is our hero.  I have received several emails from the first people to arrive on the scene and the EMTS who have all expressed this.  He had dialed 911 and kept his siblings calm until help arrived at which point he was able to give them all of our information.  After several weeks Noah has not regained feeling in his legs.  The doctors have classified his injury as complete.  Statistically people with complete spinal chord injuries have a 3% chance of regaining function below the point of injury.  There is no easy way to tell this to a boy whose dream was to play professional soccer.  He is an athletic kid a rad snowboarder, rock climber, mountain biker, kayaker an all around Durango kid.  Best of all Noah is a hard worker.  That being said we’ll take 3%.  In reality there was a much smaller chance of him becoming a professional soccer player yet he was willing to work hard to achieve that goal.  We’ll take 3% and pile on top of it all of our prayers and community support and we will work hard to achieve that goal.  More than ever I am realizing that the treasures in life are in the hard work more than the results or in the words of that incredible songstress Miley Cyrus “ It’s the climb”(Amada’s favorite).

I want to note here as well that Roger, Terry, my kids’ Mom Kimberly and Dante’s Father Chad have all been heroic themselves.  In the mess of relationships that a blended family brings everyone has been supportive and kind to one another which is something that Cas was always so good at fostering.

As  for myself,  I have always felt as if I was living between two worlds and that has just been amplified.   This aspect of my character has always been something I have struggled with and like most things in life has its good parts and bad parts.   I am obviously devastated by losing my best friend and wife, the consequences of which become more and more real everyday.  At the same time I have never had such strong glimpses of heaven on earth, of Cas leading me and being part of all of the creation around me in the wind and the snow, this is also becoming more and more real to me each day.   I hope I can find the words someday to express my thankfulness when I consider the gifts that she gave to me.  As well as the thankfulness for the thoughts and prayers of all of those who have reached out to us in thought and prayer.  From my oldest friends, the Kashatus’,  the Cate School Community, our many Church Families,  our Native American church Family,  Indian Country as a whole( who knows and understands these tragedies all too well).  I have never been a rich man but we have been incredibly blessed with friends and family.  Bless all of you.

I wanted to take a few moments this  thanksgiving morning and express my sincere thankfulness to our friends and relatives who have shown such amazing support.  There are few moments in ones life where we are able to see the sum of support that surrounds us.  It has been an affirmation of the life that Cassandra and I have tried to live.  Thank you so much.

A year ago we planned to have thanksgiving with Cassandra’s Gramma in Cousins NM.(understandably the concept of thanksgiving is a delicate one in Indian Country)  Gramma lives deep in the southern portion of the Navajo Reservation.  She speaks no English and lives a simple life.  The family had organized the dinner and we were to bring a side dish.  As we prepared to leave late wed. evening in a blizzard we received a call and due to the weather several family members were unable to make it.  Unfortunately they were responsible for the turkey and other key components of the meal.  Cas and I were ready to pick up the slack but found that everything in Gallup was closed for the holidays(even Wal Mart).  The only store open at 9:00 p.m. was a mustang gas station which also carried a few staples(only in Navajo land can you buy 20 lb. bags of potatoes and 50lb. sacks of flour at a convenience store.)  So armed with every edible option we could find we  drove through the storm and down the precarious dirt roads to grammas house.  We proceeded to have one of the best thanksgiving meals ever.  Spam and potatoes, frybread,  eggs and bacon and pancakes.

I will miss my beautiful wife and her spirit of determination so much.  Love, respect and thankfulness to all of you.

You can see more pictures by clicking “Continue Reading”

My name is Terry Hawkins. I am Dante’s grandmother. Dante is Cassandra and my son Chad’s son. I have had Dante for almost 5 years. When I first met Cassandra, David, and Dante in Albuquerque, she was not in a good way. She made the greatest sacrifice a loving mother could make knowing she couldn’t take care of Dante. She gave him to Roger and me and we promised her she could always be a part of his life. In taking Dante to Bayfield where we live, she found a way and moved her and David to Durango so she could be close to Dante. Come rain or snow or ice whatever she would see and spend time with Dante on Sundays. I witnessed this young woman pull herself up from the bottom, move to a new town, and struggle in finding a place for her and David to live. I always think about the story she told me; she was literally living out of her car and she ordered pizza from Papa Murphys. When they handed it to her she didn’t know it wasn’t cooked, that you take it home to bake it. To this day I do not know what she did.
She got an apartment, got her and David in school, and came out with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Through all her struggles she found the love of her life, Jason.  Jason had 3 children – Alicia, Noah, and Amada – I watched these children flourish with Cassandra and she was so close to having Dante back with her also. Cassandra is an inspiration and a role model proving that with hard work, determination, love, and faith you can conquer even the worst of situations. Cassandra if you’re listening, Roger and I will always take good car of OUR Dante. We love you forever and will miss you so very much. I’m sorry I couldn’t be at the service in person but I know Cassandra would want me to be with Dante.

Thanks to Darrell Clah for sending this on to me– if anyone has anything that we can post, please contact me

Cassandra was only 30 years old, and had many big plans and dreams. That her life was cut short was a tragedy that will have an effect on many, many people, both directly and indirectly. Cass was an amazing person, a dedicated mother, a wonderful wife to Jason Hotchkiss, a powerful activist, and so much more to so many people.

Please use the comment fields and our forums to share your memories, photographs and videos of Cass.  Let’s keep her memory and her good works alive and moving forward.

In addition, all information about Noah, Amada, and Dante, her and Jason’s children who were seriously injured in the crash, will be posted as quickly as possible at the “Kids” link at the top of the page.

Please keep your thoughts and prayers coming as the kids work hard toward their recovery and our entire extended family works through the grief of this situation.