Date of Birth
May 7, 1996
Date of Death
June 29, 2016
Location
Portland, Maine
Cause of Death
Pulmonary Hypertension
Who She Was
Her Story
Sadie Lynn Palma (Cole), 20, died suddenly on June 29, 2016, after her battle with pulmonary hypertension. She was born May 7, 1996, the daughter of Angela Pierpont and Thomas Cole.
Sadie started learning French in junior high school, and easily picked up Spanish as well, becoming fluent in both languages in high school. She loved using her language skills to help others in the community. When Sadie was in Jr high school, she volunteered at Reiche Elementary School a few days a week helping the children with their homework. After she graduated she volunteered at Portland High School helping ESL students, and also volunteered in classrooms at Lyman Moore Middle School.
Sadie graduated from Seminole Ridge High School in Florida on May 20, 2014. Prior to that, she was a student at Portland High School, and also attended Deering High School. After her high school graduation, Sadie returned to Maine where she met and married Juan Jose Palma, and their amazing miracle daughter, Sofia Alice, was born on July 8, 2015.
Sadie wanted to go to school to become a nurse, and dreamed of making a difference in the world. She wanted to be one of the really good nurses, the kind that bring genuine comfort to their patients, the kind of nurse that patients would look forward to seeing. She thought she might move to a big city, and loved Boston and New York. She also loved going out to eat, especially Spanish food, and couldn’t wait to turn 21 to be able to go out dancing to Spanish music. She loved spending her time with Sofia and Jose, and big family gatherings were one of her favorite things.
Camp Jordan was one of Sadie’s favorite places in the world, a place where Sadie really blossomed and met some of her closest friends. She had hoped to someday renew her vows there and have the wedding of her dreams. She also wished for her daughter to attend the camp in the future as well.
Sadie comes from a big family with 6 other siblings, of which she was the oldest. Her siblings are Mason (16), Jacob (14), Brady (12), Evan (12), Alexis (10), and Corey (8). She was predeceased by one of her favorite people, her Uncle Wayne Crowley. She is also survived by: her mom Angela Bowie-Haskell, stepfather Jeremy Bowie-Haskell, father Thomas Cole, her “father at heart” Jeremy Collison, her Nana and Papa, Caroline and Russell King, Grandmother Sarah Stitham, Grandfather Dwight Pierpont, Grandfather Richard Cole, Great Grandmother Carolyn St Peter, Aunts Sandra Mitchell, Michelle Crowley, Uncles James Watson, Kenneth Pierpont, Steven Merrill, Dustin Cole and lots and lots of beloved cousins.
Sadie and her family hosted two foreign exchange students, with whom Sadie developed strong bonds and continued to stay in contact with. They were Luisa Burgraff of Germany, Iseult Delabroy of France.
Sadie’s best friend in the whole world is Sierra Alley, and even though life took them in different directions at times, they always found their way back to the comfort of their everlasting friendship.
For the last year of her life, Sadie was in and out of the hospital while doctors tried to keep her pulmonary hypertension under control. We would like to express our sincere appreciation for some of the staff at Maine Med, especially nurses Bill, Tammy, and Jeri. Sadie and her family would also like to thank some incredible doctors in particular: Dr. Joel Wirth, Dr. Jen Palminteri, Dr. Shao, and Dr. Litton (who helped Sadie survive the emergency delivery of her daughter, Sofia).