The Lasting Tragic Story of Skylar Lynnae Neil’s Death
Skylar Lynnae Neil was the young daughter of Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil and his ex-wife Sharise. For fans of the rock group, this story is probably quite well known, as Neil himself has openly talked about it for a number of years. Even those who aren’t acutely aware of the story have probably heard something about it and the details are nothing short of heartbreaking. This young girl had barely passed her fourth birthday when her parents lost her to cancer. Cancer is a horrible disease that takes so much from so many. In Neil’s case, the struggle to come back from this tragedy has been very raw and extremely personal. He now believes that there might have been a direct link between where the family lived at the time and his daughter’s cancer. In short, it is a story that continues to impact him and the rest of his family, as well as virtually anyone else who hears it.
A Life Cut Tragically Short
Skylar’s young life was cut short in 1995 when she died from cancer. She had been born in March of 1991 and she passed away in August, just four short years later. She had just celebrated her fourth birthday approximately five months before her death. Clearly, this is a tragic story for anyone who goes through it. Even for those who have never experienced the loss of a child before, the very thought of such a thing is absolutely heartbreaking. Hearing Neil tell his story, it becomes even more so. The truth is, his raw emotions about it really drive the point home. They also make you wonder why such a tragic thing happened. Interestingly enough, Neil has some idea of his own.
Never-Ending Suffering
One of the things that Neil recalls is the immense amount of suffering that his young daughter had to endure because of the cancer. He also recalls how quickly it all happened. According to Neil himself, she was literally running around playing one weekend, the picture of perfect health. Less than a week later, she was in the hospital with what doctors initially believed was an appendix that had burst. Unfortunately, the situation turned out to be much more severe than anyone had initially believed. Instead of a burst appendix, young Skylar was suffering from a cancerous tumor in her abdomen that had grown to more than six pounds and attached itself to almost every vital organ in her body. There was no way that doctors could safely remove it and so they began a series of surgeries to partially remove many of her vital organs. In some cases, the entire organ was taken out, such as in the case of her right kidney. Through it all, she was in tremendous pain, so much so that nothing any of the doctors did seemed to relieve it. In the five short months since she had been diagnosed, she underwent six different operations. After the last one, the young girl went into a coma and her father fell into a state of complete despair.
The Moment No One Wants to Endure
Unfortunately, Neil wasn’t with his daughter in the hospital when she passed away. He had only stepped away for a few hours, but during that time, he had received a call that he needed to return as quickly as possible. Stuck in traffic, he was unable to get to her in time. His ex-wife recounts being with her and how she briefly awoke from her coma in a state of panic, trying to somehow understand what was happening to her. Neil swears that he knew the moment she died, even though he was miles away, sitting in a car on the highway. He says that he physically felt his own heart jump in his chest and knew that it was the moment that hers stopped beating. Sadly, the moment that he had dreaded since the day she was diagnosed had come. Despite all of their efforts to find a way to cure her, it just wasn’t possible. Neil himself admits that the pain he had felt while she was sick was nothing compared to the pain of losing her entirely.
Was Something Wrong With the Environment at Their House?
One of the things that always bothered Neil was that his daughter was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer, something that even the doctors had trouble understanding considering her age. As he investigated, he learned that the couple’s California home, near a Boeing factory, might have been affected by illegal dumping by the corporation. Although it hasn’t yet been confirmed in a court of law, he sued Boeing with the belief that they knowingly engaged in the illegal dumping of dangerous materials such as uranium and plutonium. Neil believes that they routinely dumped these materials into the soil and the water table near the house. He also believes that this was what ultimately caused his daughter’s cancer. Of course, Boeing says that no such illegal dumping ever occurred and is fighting the lawsuit. To date, it is still unknown how things will eventually play out. One thing is certain, Boeing has the resources to tie this matter up in court for years if they should decide to do so.
To this day, Neil struggles with the events that happened. Mostly, he struggles with the idea of not having the chance to see his daughter grow up or knowing what she would eventually become. Part of the reason that he has struggled so hard with this, aside from losing his own child, is because he has wondered if he should have tried so many treatments in an attempt to help her or if he should have simply let her go. Because she suffered so much, he often wonders if he caused undue suffering in an attempt to cure something that he knew deep down was not curable at all. In short, he suffers from a nightmare that is quite similar to the one that is probably experienced by many parents who have the unfortunate circumstance of finding themselves in a similar situation.
