Woman receives final birthday gift from father 5 years after his death
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A 21st birthday surprise from a Tennessee father, to his daughter, came five years after his death.
Flowers and a note have arrived in the mail, for the last five years, on Bailey Sellers’ birthday.
Her father, Mike Sellers, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in 2013. A month before his daughter’s 17th birthday, he died.
“I dropped out of high school and became home schooled so that I could take care of him, so that my mom could work to take care of us. I spent every waking second with him. I only left his side at 11 o’clock at night.” said Bailey Sellers.
Now, on her 21st birthday, her last bouquet of flowers and last note arrived. This one was different than the rest, with a reminder: They’ll meet again.
“When I opened this card, I especially felt him with me. It’s a cold feeling, then a happy feeling at the same time,” said Sellers.
The note, written before his death, went along with the prepaid arrangements, set up with a flower shop without his daughter knowing.
“I used to dread my birthday every year because of it. It makes me think of him even more. But at the same time, it makes me so happy knowing he loved me that much.” said Sellers.
Sellers says this year, she didn’t expect a longer letter. Usually, the card was short, “Happy Birthday, Love Dad.” Thinking back to his first diagnosis, she says, she’s now grateful she had the time to spend with him.
“It was hard. It was very, very hard on me. I’m really glad that I did drop out of high school and become home schooled. I would’ve been more upset. I would’ve watched him get sicker and sicker. It was happiness, but it was a mix of happiness and sadness. Because he wasn’t suffering anymore,” said Sellers.
Now, she’s studying psychology at East Tennessee State University and says she was inspired to do so because of her own depression after her father died.
She hopes to help others, and plans to go to graduate school at University of Tennessee. She says her dad would be proud.