Time is strange. Today, well today in the US, 14 years ago my sister Debbie passed away after a 3 1/2 year fight with Scleroderma. It was a warm sunny first day of Spring. A few weeks earlier I had celebrated my 19th birthday. My brother Ryan returned home from a mission for our church in Ecuador & his homecoming was scheduled for Sunday, two days later. Brian, Debbie's little boy, took his first steps which made Debbie light up. Deb was actually feeling pretty good. So on that Friday morning when she wasn't feeling well and had a Dr. appointment we all thought she would be fine. I remember lying in her bed with her & my mom and talking with her. Over & over she kept telling me that everything was going to be alright. Ryan went off skiing, Jeff went to school and I went to school and later to work. I thought she would be ok.
At one I was told that my dad was on the phone & that is was urgent. As I answered the phone my heart sank as my dad told me that Debbie wasn't doing well and was at the hospital. My nieces were at my house so I needed to come home and be with them while my parents went to the hospital to be with Deb & my brother in-law Dave.
I waited and waited and finally called the hospital to get an update. The nurse told me that she had passed away around 2:00 and that my parents were on their way home. I didn't say a word, I couldn't. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I called my sister Jo and we both sobbed.
Experiences like these change you. I felt heart ache like I have never felt before. Walking in the house and not having her sitting in the green chair was hard. Coming home from a date and walking into her room to talk to her and Dave and not have her there was hard.
I learned so much. I struggled for a long time but I learned a lot. I miss her and I wish she could still be here with us, but I am lucky that she is my sister & that this is only part of the big picture. There are many more great times ahead & I look forward to seeing her again one day. She taught me the importance of having a good attitude & staying positive even when it's difficult. I am grateful to her for that.
I hope one day a cure will be found for Scleroderma.
