She dreamed of building rockets. What's happened since Annie's death will help others soar

WESTFIELD — Before she fell asleep each night, Annie Gotwald used to look up at the stars projected on her ceiling.

The 9-year-old Westfield girl dreamed of engineering rockets for NASA and sending astronauts to space. She constantly wanted to learn, especially about STEM-related topics. Annie often tried to slip in one last question to her parents as she laid in bed.

"She was just relentless in the sweetest way," said the girl's mother Lindsay Gotwald.

An illness took their daughter from them, but Lindsay and her husband Greg Gotwald have committed to making something positive out of the tragedy. With help from loved ones, the parents have raised more than $200,000 in Annie’s honor and plan to use the funds to inspire other kids to be interested in STEM.

“We don’t fully know why so many people have contributed other than Annie was just awesome,” Greg said.

The parents wear friendship bracelets made by Annie and buttons with her soccer number. Lindsay misses holding her daughter’s hand, while Greg notices the silence inside the family’s home that used to be filled with Annie’s singing.

Through their grief, Lindsay and Greg have found support and many other people who want to help carry on what Annie was all about.

“We're focused on trying to create opportunities for other kids to experience STEM," Lindsay said. “Annie was a very thoughtful and inclusive little person. I have no doubt she would love this.”

Annie’s enthusiasm for STEM was contagious

When Amy McClelland thinks of her former student, she’s reminded of a song from the ‘80s movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

“The song tells you to turn on your heart light and let it shine wherever you go,” McClelland said. “That's how Annie was. Everybody in contact with her could sense this glow that she had.”

McClelland was Annie’s STEM teacher at Maple Glen Elementary for nearly four years. She remembers the 3rd grader’s enthusiasm and how Annie could move past failures during experiments and class activities.

Annie stood out from her classmates in how she collaborated and included other students' ideas during activities. McClelland, whose father worked with NASA as an aerospace engineer, remembers Annie sharing her dreams of working for the agency. The teacher believes Annie had what it takes.

“She already had that mindset at such a young age,” McClelland said. “She already had the ability to make a mistake and move past it.”

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Soccer team honors Annie with headbands, uniform patches

When Annie set her mind to something, nobody was going to tell her she couldn’t do it — that included taking on the position of goalie on her soccer team.

“She would just take the punishment that comes with that position and never ask to come out or complain,” said the girl’s coach Nick Noel. “She took a lot of pride in playing goalkeeper and she was really good at it.”

Since her death, Annie’s coach and teammates have tried to keep her close by incorporating the number 55, which was her uniform number, into buttons, headbands and patches on uniforms.

Annie had one of the strongest legs for her age group, and she could kick the ball almost the entire length of the field.

“It was a pretty insane weapon to have, and it would catch the other teams off guard,” Noel said.

Much like everything else she did, Annie put in 100% effort. Noel planned to name Annie team captain because she led by example, and her teammates gravitated to her.

It’s been a blessing to see soccer families and the wider Westfield community work together to honor Annie, Noel said.

“One of the things I've been sharing with the team is being grateful for what you have,” he said. "If she could huddle up with us again, she would tell us to enjoy the moments with the team and with each other.”

Annie died from illness that impacted her lungs

Annie’s loved ones never expected she’d be taken from them so soon. It was the morning of Feb. 1 when she stayed home from school with a fever.

Lindsay tucked her daughter in for a nap then checked on her 15 minutes later. Annie was no longer breathing, and Lindsay called 911.

“They stayed on with me while I did CPR,” Lindsay said. “The paramedics got there so quickly, but she was just gone.”

Annie was rushed to Riley Children's Health at IU Health North in Carmel, but doctors were never able to revive her. She died from diffuse alveolar damage/acute respiratory distress.

Diffuse alveolar damage is when the small sacs in a person’s lungs, that bring oxygen to their blood, are severely damaged, said Gregory Montgomery, a professor of clinical pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Montgomery is also the director of pediatric pulmonology inpatient services at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. The damage to a person’s lungs leads to respiratory failure or difficulties with breathing, he explained.

That damage is caused by an infection from bacteria, viruses, fungi or sepsis. The damage to Annie’s lungs was likely caused by a bacterial infection, her parents were told, but they still don’t have all the answers, including where she got the infection from.

Just one day before she died, Annie was her usual self. She ran around at soccer practice and didn’t complain about feeling unwell.

“More than likely that means the infection was overwhelming,” Montgomery said of how quickly the illness progressed. “Even if she had made it to a hospital and gotten acute treatment, there's still a high likelihood that the outcome could have been the same.”

Montgomery and the other doctors at Riley Hospital for Children see several patients each year with respiratory distress caused by diffuse alveolar damage.

“It remains one of those things that, even with advances in medicine, remains very difficult to treat because it requires a lot of intensive care and sometimes even just a lot of luck,” Montgomery said.

For Lindsay and Greg, the knowledge that Annie died at home with her beloved kittens, Stubby and Lala, nearby has brought comfort.

“She wasn’t by herself,” Lindsay said. “We are going to take good care of those cats. It was very sweet because she loved them very much.”

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'Brightest star burns the fastest’

“I truly believe you are the perfect meaning of the brightest star burns the fastest,” 11-year-old Samantha Gotwald wrote in the eulogy for her sister.

It wasn’t just Annie’s sister who could tell she was special. It was also her teachers, coaches, friends and the more than 1,500 people who came to her visitation in Westfield.

Annie’s loved ones have found themselves stuck between grieving for the young girl and being thankful for the time they did get with her.

“One of the things I struggle with is you look at the GoFundMe page and notes and letters about her, and you see how much impact she had in 9.5 years of life,” Greg said. “How much better could the world have been if she got to live a longer life?”

Still, her parents have pressed forward in their mission to inspire other kids. When they first started the GoFundMe account the day after Annie died, Greg and Lindsay never imagined how fast it would grow.

They are still solidifying their ideas for what, exactly, to do with the money, but have met with others in the community and plan to work with Annie’s elementary school, the Westfield Washington Public Library and Grand Universe.

The Gotwalds are also considering setting up a scholarship fund for local high school seniors planning to pursue STEM degrees in college. In addition to the GoFundMe account, donations can be made through the Central Indiana Community Foundation.

"We don’t want this to be a one-time thing,” Greg said.

While STEM was important to Annie, both her parents agree there’s an even simpler legacy the girl leaves behind. Staying positive, being kind and spreading love were messages on posters Annie hung on the walls of her bedroom.

"That was just who she was," Lindsay said. "If people can think of Annie and just show a little bit of kindness toward someone else, then that's a beautiful legacy for her."

Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana girl, 9, died unexpectedly. Her legacy will help others soar