Live Like Zoe Grace, Mobile, AL (2026)

05/01/2026

Is it odd that just minutes before my birthday clock strikes, I am still awake talking to God about time?

For the past few days, my emotions have been in the trenches.

On May 1st, I will be 39 years old, and all I can ask God is, "How did I deserve 39 years and she only received 13?"

If I could bottle up the time I've been given and pass it to Zoe, I know she would have used it much more wisely than I have.

She would have made very distinct, well-thought-out plans, and those plans would have come to be, because that was her.

At 18, 25, heck 39, I still don't know what my purpose is.

I have had and still have no distinct pattern or plan for myself.

My three greatest accomplishments are my children.

I held jobs and worked my way through them to reach goals that my husband and I set to provide the kind of life we thought our three little people deserved.

They weren't careers I had dreamt of since I was 8 years old; they were just jobs.

Zoe Grace had beautiful dreams about her life.

She was going to make amazing things happen.

She was going to work to find a cure for an all consuming monster- and hold the hand of the one fighting for it, giving them her gentle, warm smile of support along the way.

The only big plan for myself that I had made in the past few years was to work to help afford those dreams- be her biggest cheerleader- to host the parties she deserved to celebrate her accomplishments.

She was so well-spoken and knowledgeable about the words she used.

So purposeful in her decision making.

She was just about to enter high school, and she was already planning for classes to polish her Mobile History knowledge for the Azalea Trail.

Holding out hope that she was going to get Spanish as one of her 8th grade classes.

She was progressing with her tumbling and improving her cheer skills.

And, of course, she was already making plans for UTK and her dorm decor; in fact, her reshares on TikTok are mostly scripture quotes and college reveal inspiration.

We had already planned her college graduation trip to Hawaii.

If there's anything I've learned in this additional year I've been given, it's that I hope to do much more with the next 39 years than I did with the first.
To be clear, thorough, and focused on my goals.
To live like Zoe Grace would have if she had received 39 years.

04/19/2026

As the Heart Gala approached I felt more and more anxiety.

I was completely out of my comfort zone.

Zoe was our fancy one. I could dress her up like a babydoll and she would walk in with all of the confidence in the world.
And it just worked.
It was her persona.

I second guessed the shoes and dress I had purchased weeks ago, my ability to hold it together as they told a 1 minute version of who Zoe is and why we are advocating for kids in our community while showing her beautiful little face on the screen.

I had mentally shut down.

While away on Spring Break I had mentioned to Keith that I didn’t feel confident in the dress that I had bought. It was ill fitting and at the same time I didn’t feel like having alterations because at the bottom line I wasn’t even confident that I could even do it, and that I may just cancel.

Instead, with 3 days to go until the event- we came home and he said “let’s find you something else”.

We had been to the department stores where I had bought the original dress so the only other local shop that I knew to try was Putting on the Ritz in Mobile.
So I stopped in.

Keith sat in the truck with napping kiddos which added the pressure of not having his opinion or advice in the room with me.

I explained to the saleswoman what I was looking for, and she shared that she wasn’t sure they would have something like I had described but that they would pull some things and have them in the room for me to try.

She and her associate went to work pulling dresses and having them all waiting for me.

I made it through all of the dresses and was just before putting on the final.
I was in tears.
Nothing fit the way I felt it should.
It felt like an alarm going off in my mind saying “nothing works, it’s a sign that you just don’t need to do it”.
I felt so defeated.

I had just stepped into the final dress - a black formal gown with a Giant White Bow- totally Zoe’s style- not mine- when the saleswoman gently said “You’ve been in there a while and we haven’t seen anything yet. Can I help or see what you have on?”
I opened my curtain and she quickly finished zipping me and went to work tucking straps, smoothing out the skirt and train.
Through the mirror we read each others faces. She tilted her head to the side and said “what don’t you like about it, it looks beautiful?” and I replied “the body in it”.

It was a raw emotion and I meant every word.

I began crying.

She asked about the event and I told her “I don’t want to trauma dump on you”. She replied “I love a good story, let’s hear it”.

So, I shared about Zoe- the event- and how I was afraid that I would be a crying blubbering mess and embarrass her and myself and wasn’t sure if I could even do it.

She walked me out into a Large 3 sided mirror and said “This looks perfect on you. You are going to be beautiful. You deserve this moment and so does she”.

Through the mirror I could see that behind me hung a little Fuchsia cocktail dress that looked so much like Zoe’s only homecoming dress.
I cried and said “that looks like Zoe’s dress”.
Like she was there.

She asked my final thoughts and I said “yes, let’s do this one”.

I got dressed and came out to find these 2 beautiful ladies holding a pink garment bag with jewelry tucked into the top pocket.
They held it out and said “this is on us, enjoy your night honoring Zoe Grace”.

I cried and refused and they said “No, this is our gift to you.” We hugged and they told me that I am loved and that they couldn’t wait to see photos and to stop in and visit anytime.

So last night Keith and I dressed up and attended the American Heart Association - Alabama Art for Heart.
I took the stage in the most Zoe Grace dress I could have ever found as they told her story.
I stood beside amazing people being recognized for their amazing contributions to our community.

So THANK YOU to the beautiful ladies at Putting on the Ritz.
You gave me confidence and the most amazing dress!

If you are looking for amazing service, beautiful clothing, and someone who will bless your heart and soul- go visit these ladies.

04/13/2026

Spring Break has been another first.

It is no secret that the Beach was Zoe’s favorite place to be.
Spring Break was religious for her.

Her normal spots, her favorite people, spending the days on the beach with lunchables or a sub, watermelon, pineapple, slim Jim’s, and chips.

We weren’t sure that we were ready to face the beach without her yet- but, Sawyer insisted that we spend Spring Break at the beach.

Keith called me from work and said “find us a place to stay”.
So, I went to VRBO and typed in our dates and Orange Beach, Alabama.
Wouldn’t you know, the first place to pop up was the exact room we stayed in for Zoe’s 13th Birthday party.

Upon packing I realized I hadn’t even unpacked our Bogg bag from our Disney trip in June- just before Zoe passed.
Whenever I opened it it revealed Zoe’s sunblock, her spare ponytails, her goggles, her beach towel, and her hairbrush.

All gut punches.

Whenever we made it to Orange Beach we cried as we reminisced over years of Beach memories. Our last being in May of 2025 just a month before she left us.

We decided we were going to make bright, happy, fun memories for the kids.

We spent the day on the beach with all of those same favorite snacks, and, last night, we decided to take the kids sand crab hunting. Sawyer had a blast. She ran with her flashlight and bucket- collecting crab after crab.

After collecting our fill, we saw a group down the beach - little girls around Sawyer and Zoe’s ages.

Sawyer walked over to them with her bucket and emptied her crabs for them to see.
They were ecstatic.
We even showed them how to pick them up without being pinched.

As we walked off I pulled Sawyer to me and said “that was sweet of you” she said “that was living like Zoe Grace, right?”.

If that phrase doesn’t mean a hill of beans to anyone else- that’s okay- because it means everything to us and Sawyer has taken it quite literally.

I noticed the stars and tried snapping a quick photo- but my phone wouldn’t ever focus correctly to capture them. But, I zoomed in on this one star that made an odd shape in my photo.
To me, in my mind always looking for deeper meaning, it looked like an Angel.

So, I tried zooming in on my iPhone camera to capture details of that star alone.

Once it focused on that star, the image looked familiar.

On Zoe’s 14th birthday, her Dad and I released 14 balloons with 3 of those being “ZOE”. A photo was snapped as they floated away.

The new photo from tonight looked very much like that “ZOE” image we had taken that day.

It may be a fluke- my mind- or just a glare.
But, for me- it was Zoe letting us know that she was there with us.

🩷✌️🏖️

04/07/2026

In October of 2025 we officially formed the Live Like Zoe Grace Foundation with the hopes and dreams of providing a free heart screening to our Satsuma students.

In that same week I had been contacted by Maranda and Jason Skelton who would be attending the Baldwin County Heart Walk for the American Heart Association - Alabama.
They offered to be a voice for Zoe Grace.
To share her story and our goals.

The evening of the event, a very excited Maranda shared with me the outpouring of love and support they had received from those who were willing to stop and listen.
She even shared a contact for the Association and asked that I give her a call about participating in the Mobile Heart Walk.

I did just that.

I contacted Bridgett Ford Dunn and shared the dream.
We attended the Mobile Heart Walk with our very first team and nearly tripled our goal for our team!
I was able to shake hands and speak to so many people as we shared Zoe’s story- those hands included those of Bridgett Dunn and Lenise Ligon with FOX10 News.

Fast forward to February 2026.

We were in the final stretch of days leading up to our very first heart screening event.
The dream was coming true.

I was asked by My HeartCheck to provide a video sharing who Zoe Grace is, her story, and our foundations goals for their Strive for Life gala.
I had literally shared maybe 4 videos on TikTok prior to this- but- with February being heart month, thought it may be a great opportunity to advocate for heart health awareness for youth on a larger platform.

So I shared.

Within hours our video was viral (around 500k views).
So many people shared their stories.
Shared their plans to have their children screened.
Asked questions about symptoms, how to ask for their children to be screened, or even about bringing an event to their state.

I was blown away at the response!

A few days later Sawyer had just had her tonsils and adenoids removed around 8am and we were visiting with a friend whenever my phone rang with an unknown number.

I usually wouldn’t answer but with her just having surgery I was concerned it was a surgical follow up- so I answered.

I heard a familiar voice on the other end.

“Good afternoon, Shannon- This is Bridgett Dunn with the American Heart Association”.

I’ll be honest, whenever I heard that it was her- I assumed she was doing a follow up to see how our goals were moving - or- even asking for a sponsorship or donation for the current year.

Instead she shared that she had seen our video on TikTok. She had seen the responses. She was amazed that we had just discussed our goals and how we could make them a reality back in November of 2025 and here we were making them happen.

Then she shared that the American Heart Association would like to honor our foundation at the 2026 Heart Gala as the Advocacy Chamber.

My heart was elated.

Not for me- but that Zoe Grace had touched so many lives.
That Zoe Grace wasn’t just a statistic- she is an ignition point for a fire for advocacy, education, and a movement.

I am so honored to be a part of such a grand picture.
That my girl is known.
That she is still shining her light.

04/02/2026

The month of March was both the longest and most chaotic month we have had in a while.

We hosted a birthday party for Sawyer- then, all in one never ending week - Brooks had surgery to implant tubes in both ears(since we were on week 12-ish of ear infection), an Allergist visit we had been waiting on since January for him to get some relief for his eczema, we hosted a 2 day heart screening, and then Zoe’s 14 birthday hit like a ton of bricks.

Emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausted doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.

As Parents we are wired to put our bodies on reserve battery whenever we have a to-do list a mile long and sick babies.
Your focus is on getting that sick baby fixed and you make all of the calls- travel all of this distances- and pay whatever crazy number that throw at you to get your child the relief that they deserve.

But, I had a new experience that threw me into a brand new feeling- Helplessness.

I was asked in a few different interviews prior to our event “how will you feel if you are able to find out a child has an undetected heart defect and that your event is the one that gets them the help they need?”.

My response each time was truly heart felt but didn’t even scratch the surface.

I stated “If this event saves just 1 child it will be worth it all”.

I prayed a repetitive prayer leading up to the event, setting up the evening before with a group of friends, and the morning of the event:

“Lord, I ask that every child that walks through these doors is Healthy and Happy. But, that if there is something that has been unseen, you will bring it to light through this event”.

The days after the event I felt a sense of relief.
I had received a single message from a Mom letting me know that they had detected something minor that requires monitoring but that is not so big that it required action at this time.

Then, at Sunday lunch with my little family- 1 week after the screening- I received a message from a Mother asking if I could talk.
In the same moment, I had received a message from one of the directors from the Screening group letting me know to expect a call from a parent.

Since I had read both and had no hand in the medical portion of findings- I assumed that it was an inquiry about a future event or a general question. So I called the number she provided.

The voice I heard on the other end of the phone was one that I had known since I was 5 years old- and it was frantic.
I recognized her panicked tone all too well.
She was fighting through tears to get her words out:

“Can you please send me that Doctors referral information. Shannon, they found something.”

In the moment I must have looked like a crazy person as my husband looked at my face and said “What’s wrong?” which was quickly echoed by Sawyer “is everything okay”.

I responded in a way that I can only assume a 911 operator feels “Hey, take a deep breath- the good news is they’ve found it- and now you can do something about it”.

Her response is and will always be the driving force behind the purpose of LLZG:

“WE WOULD HAVE NEVER KNOWN”

I hung up and did as I had said I would - I called and text the Doctor to try to make my plea for the student to be seen as soon as the next day.

And then I cried.

Not because her kid had a chance to be saved- but, because I knew that this Momma now held the burden of knowing something is wrong- has the fight to fix it- and how she can only hope that the medical professionals feel her same sense of urgency to provide her help- And now my hands have no other help to offer.

Helpless.

So, if you asked me tonight how I would feel knowing that a child was saved from this I would say “I was helpless”.

We were able to identify 4 students defects.

4 children who walked into that gym having no symptoms, no reason for concern, just kids taking advantage of the same opportunity as their peers.

4 families now have knowledge of a piece of the unknown.
They can now treat or monitor the findings.

I can say there couldn’t have been a more perfect Birthday gift for our girl than for those 4 children and their families to have been blessed with a chance.

03/28/2026

Today we celebrate our girl.
Our sunshine with lip gloss, our sparkle, our joy.

Zoe, you would be 14 today…
and oh, how we wish we were celebrating with you here.
Balloons, cake, laughter, and all things happy, bright, and glittery, just the way you loved it.

Instead, we celebrate you in a different way- a birthday in Heaven, where we know you are dancing, smiling, and lighting up every corner just like you always did here.

You were the kind of light this world doesn’t forget.

The kind of love that doesn’t fade.

The kind of girl who changed everything in a very small amount of time.

We feel you in the kindness we give, in the lives being touched, and in every heart that chooses to be a friend to the friendless, a smile on someone’s bad day, and the wide open full hugs.

We will celebrate you today and always.

Happy Heavenly Birthday, sweet girl.

We love you forever.

✨

03/24/2026

I’ve been visiting Zoe’s grave multiple times a week for 9 months now.

But today… I had a stark realization whenever I arrived.

I noticed that there is barely any dirt showing.

That she is nearly surrounded in fresh green grass.

It was only brought to my attention by the fresh grave near hers.

Instantly it brought the dark memory of what landed us here in the first place.

I began having flashes of that night.

The panic.
The terror.

Then, it was me standing over a fresh grave covered in piles of flowers days after her funeral.

Then, back to reality.
Standing over her portrait etched into a black stone which covers her.

We went from a happy family of 5 to a surviving family of 4 within seconds.

The cruel reality exist.

This Saturday at 5:39pm she will be 14 years old.

14.

We will gather at Forest Lawn Cemetary over that same grave and release balloons to her and think back on of all of the good times.

The bright warm memories that made our lives better for knowing her.

Love your people.
Tomorrow isn’t promised.
Celebrate the little things.
Don’t take things too seriously.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1B5JyPsM1u/?mibextid=wwXIfr

03/23/2026

Still pinching myself….

The weekend was a huge success.

Now, we wait for results.

The names on this board are more than just names.

They are the momentum behind our mission.

104 lives were touched this weekend.
104 children were screened.
104 sets of parents were either given peace of mind or a fighting chance to save their children.

These 104 students were given the chance to be spared from becoming a statistic.

Adding this beauty to our LLZG Office and getting to work this morning on what’s next!

My HeartCheck

American Heart Association
✨✌️🩷✨

03/22/2026

WE DID IT!!

104 Students.

Heart screened, message shared, smiles, joy, and memories were made.

I doubted myself so many times throughout this journey- But God.

I cannot begin to thank our people enough.

My HeartCheck Man, what a blessing you ladies and gentlemen are.
You made this entire event exactly what I hoped it would be.
I hope that is just the beginning of a beautiful thing.

Satsuma City Schools for allowing us to serve our community from the heart of the town.

Our family and friends for setup, support, and take down of the event.

Lights by the Bay and The Pop Shop - Balloons & Events for their beautiful design and setup!

OUR COMMUNITY!

You are truly 1 in a million.

While I am sad for the reason this even exist, I am so proud for what we were able to provide for these students.
No doubts- My girl is on the other side looking at all of us with a big smile.

Thank you to all of you for your love, donations, support, and encouragement.

“Bless Your Heart 2026” is a wrap!

American Heart Association

03/21/2026

Tomorrow morning we kick off our very 1st Heart Screening Event at Satsuma High School.

Here is a little preview of our photo and screening check in area.

A BIG thank you to The Pop Shop - Balloons & Events and Lights by the Bay for their beautiful setups. Always nailing the vision!

I can’t believe we’re here.

For 2 reasons.

This day a year ago, we were surprising Zoe Grace with her 13th Birthday party in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Here we are a year later giving her peers and their families the gift of peace of mind for something we never saw coming.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow and seeing the final setup of all of our lovely supporters.

Let’s GO!

😘🩷✌️

Live Like Zoe Grace

05/01/2026

04/19/2026

04/13/2026

04/07/2026

04/02/2026

03/28/2026

03/24/2026

03/23/2026

03/22/2026

03/21/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category