In Memory of Cassandra Yazzie-Hotchkiss

Here is a short update for every one.  Dante is beginning to make a recovery .  There is still a lot of work ahead for him so keep up the prayers and good thoughts.  Noah  has received surgery on his spine and is struggling with pain.  His surgery appears successful but the bruising to his spinal chord which has left him unable to feel below the waist is still healing.  According to the doctors it could go either way for him so prayers and good thoughts are still needed.  Amada is recovering heroically and will probably be released from the hospital  tomorrow.  Needless to say all the kids are very sad about Cassandra and are processing it differently.

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”

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Thanks, Dan Filbin, this is exactly what people need to lift their spirits. Below is a link to Cassandra’s YouTube page, where you may view some of her filmmaking. I’d especially recommend “Grandma’s Couch” featuring Dante, David and Noah, “Live” featuring Amada and “Jason’s Bored Sock” featuring Jason’s sock.

http://www.youtube.com/user/caspeace2

Words from Dante’s Grandmother

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.

Due to a miscommunication with the funeral home, we are forced to move the time of the service up to 10am. Please pass this information along.

The service will be held at 10am at Rollies Mortuary, 401 Nizhoni Blvd, Gallup, NM 87301. Driving time from Durango to Gallup is approximately 4-4.5 hours.

Directions can be found here: http://cassandrayazziehotchkiss.com/funeral-update/

Sorry for any confusion, please pass this message along so that everyone who is planning to attend can be there.

Wow, thank you, everyone, so much for your love and support right now. We got nearly 100 emails yesterday, and almost 800 people came to visit the site. Visitors from 44 cities in the Four Corners area, 38 states, and 7 countries.

As we get ready for the funeral tomorrow, and (hopefully) to welcome Amada back to Durango next week, it’s important to be thankful that these three beautiful children are still with us, and keep our thoughts and prayers with Noah and Dante as they go down their long, hard paths to recovery. We’re currently exploring all possible options to help Noah’s spinal cord recover, and he may have one or more long-distance moves coming up in the next few months, so he will need all the love and prayers you can send his way.