Before she died, Angie had finally found her place
Foster family says 7-year-old still had tantrums but was making progress
BY KEVIN HARTER
July 7, 2006
David and Donna Pavlik's step-daughter Angie in a photograph from last winter (see photo above). Abandoned by her birth parents and transferred in
and out of foster homes, Angellika Arndt was prone to fits of anger followed by a calm sweetness and her signature "light-up-your-life smile."
The 7-year-old was making progress. Her Ladysmith, Wis., foster parents of about 18 months had high hopes for her to begin first grade this fall in a regular classroom. Donna and Daniel Pavlik said the girl they affectionately called Angie still had tantrums, but it always seemed possible to redirect her attention and calm her.
But those dreams of a better future for the girl ended May 26 when Angie died from injuries she suffered while being restrained at a Rice Lake treatment facility.
"She had been getting time-outs at school,'' Donna Pavlik said, explaining why the family enrolled her in the treatment program. "We thought it would help get her caught up. … She was a little behind academically. We just wanted her to be a normal 7-year-old and be ready for the fall."
An investigation into Angie's death by the Rice Lake Police Department and Barron County district attorney is expected to conclude this month.
In an earlier investigation into the girl's death, the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services cited "multiple violations" of state law at the Northwest Counseling and Guidance Clinics, including the law governing physical restraint of clients. During her month attending the weekday treatment program, she was restrained face down by two clinic workers nine times, the state report said.
Clinic officials deny any wrongdoing.
The Pavliks won't discuss the investigation or any related legal issues. But they agreed to talk about the girl they loved because they want others to know more than the cursory biography of Angie released by authorities after her death, which said that she was born in Milwaukee to parents who signed away rights to her and her siblings and that she had bounced around the child-protection system.
The thing they said they can't forget is Angie's smile.
"It was a big smile. A light-up-your-life smile," Donna said.
"The first time we met her, she had that big smile," Daniel said. "She had that likeability factor. She fit in right away with everybody like she had been with the family since she was born."
The couple took Angie in through a provision called sustained foster care, and they expected her to be with them until she was 18.
The two each have children from previous marriages and opted to take in foster kids rather than have more children. Daniel, 46, who works for a window manufacturer, and Donna, 37, a special-education teacher's aide, expanded their ranch home to include a bedroom for each child.
Angie's pink bedroom with Barbie borders remains largely as she left it May 25. The closet is full of dresses, the shelves lined with stuffed animals and dolls and her CD player loaded with a country Western mix the Pavliks downloaded for her.
"I believe she would have turned out to be a normal person and you never would have known she had a rough childhood," Daniel said.
"We wanted to help her turn her life around. … The way things were going, she would have turned out to be a wonderful, caring person," Donna said.
Angie was diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder, mood disorder and attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder, according to the state's report.
"She at times could be a harder kid to handle. With reactive attachment, kids test boundaries and try to upset a good thing to see how long you are going to stick with them or give them up,'' Donna said.
Donna said Angie did have "sporadic" tantrums. They tended to be over the things that upset kids, like what was made for dinner. In such cases Angie would be "redirected" by being removed from the table and taken to her room.
The couple said Angie never was a danger to herself or others and they never restrained the brown-eyed, 56-pound girl. She usually emerged from her room with a smile and ate her dinner.
"We made huge gains on her behavior,'' Donna said. "Her difficult times could be minutes or an hour out of a whole day. Not ever was a complete day a difficult day.''
Said Daniel: "We are a pretty active family. We aren't much for sitting in front of the TV. … Angie never stopped us from going places."
They have hundreds of photos of Angie, but there will be no more photos from fishing trips, Easter egg hunts or birthdays. And Daniel will no longer buy extra minnows when he goes fishing.
"Angie and her cousin would take about five of them and name them. They became pets," Daniel said.
Angie, who celebrated her seventh birthday March 3 at McDonald's, was buried in the blue dress she got for Easter, a pink and black swimsuit beneath it.
The couple said they don't know why, but she would wear swimsuits under her clothes to school. Maybe she liked it for some kid reason, or maybe it was her way of getting one over on the adults.
Angie's monument in Riverside Cemetery is etched with an angel, her name, and these words: "Gone from our home, but never from our hearts."
"I still can't believe it," Donna said. "It's hard to wake up every morning and know she's not here."
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Angellika (Angie) Nicole Arndt, 7, Ladysmith, died May 26, 2006, at Minneapolis Children's Hospital.
She was born on March 3, 1999, at Milwaukee, the daughter of Daniel and Donna Pavlik of Ladysmith.
She had lived in Rusk County since Jan. 7, 2005.
She belonged to Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church.
Survivors include her Grandma Patricia Potter of Ladysmith;
aunts and uncles and many cousins; brothers Ryan Pavlik of Texas, Shawn Pavlik, Justin Potter and Michael Lawrence of Ladysmith, and sisters, Sasha Potter of Ladysmith and Sara of Eau Claire.
She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Carmella Pavlik and Daniel Pavlik, and her grandpa, Donald Potter.
Angie was a girl known for her beautiful smile. She enjoyed camping, walks, listing to her music, dancing, imitating her sister Sasha and playing with her friends, especially cousin Vanessa.
She loved food and her dolls. She was a joy to be around and has touched many lives. She will be very sadly missed by her family and all who were blessed to know her. Funeral services will be June 1, 2006, at 11 a.m. in the Our Lady of Sorrows Church with Father James Bartleme officiating.
