33 Years

Today marked 33 years of living here on earth for me. 33 years of also living with pulmonary hypertension and congenital heart disease. 33 years that has had many ups and downs with my health. I still can't believe that I'm still around sometimes, and yet, I thank the Good Lord every day for every year He gives me.

While I was happy during the first half of the day, signing up for pulmonary rehab, and planning out a shopping trip to buy jeans in the later afternoon, the second half of my day ended in sadness. A phriend had been missing in action for several weeks, and many of us were trying to figure out if she was ok. As Keeper of the Contact Info, I had her phone number, and her address. I had been trying to call her, and did leave a message, but never heard anything. I tried emailing her again, thinking maybe she just had a computer problem, but in the back of my mind, I didn't really think that was the case. Her local support group leader hadn't heard from her in awhile, and that worried me as well. Finally, with the help of Mason last night, I called a couple neighbors who lived near her. Thank goodness for the internet. One of the neighbors finally answered, and when I asked if he knew anything about Brenda, he said he was sorry to tell me she had passed away several weeks before. They thought something might be wrong, because she hadn't answered the door when his son went to mow her lawn, and her mailbox was filled with lots of mail. They called the police, who finally broke in and found her in her bed. This happened right before the Labor Day weekend.

It is just sad to know that Brenda is gone. She was a dear phriend, someone who had such wise things to say to newbies, and who could calmly bring helpful words when there was a disagreement on the boards. In the chat room, she was a wonderful hostess on Wednesday evenings. It's where many of us who knew her well first met her. She would ask lots of questions, suggest others who may know how to help, and she did have a funny sense of humor, too. Brenda will definitely be sadly missed. She was a big part of the PH community, and her loss has hit us all very hard. The only consolation I have is that she is no longer suffering from this darned disease called PH, and also not suffering anymore from Scleroderma.

Brenda, my phriend, breathe easier. Know how much you are missed and loved, by the very phriends I know you loved, too.

Comments

phtony said…
I too will miss Brenda - I didn't know her nearly as well as most but I do remember chatting with her at PHA - the community will certainly miss her

Thank you Colleen for keeping us up to date - I was going to post on the PHA website on that thread but guess what? I forgot my password again....

Tony
8:50 AM
Barbara Howard said…
that is a long time to live with this illness, but I thank God you are with us, you are the sweetest, kindest person I have ever met on the ph board.

You are a blessing to everyone.

take care

love
barbara
2:19 PM
Becoming Catholic said…
I was sad to hear about her passing as well...thanks for the pictures :) BTW- my mom is going to be in your neck of the woods Thursday with her sister...they are traveling over from Toronto...my mom is on vacation there now...wish I was with her so we could meet! Maybe someday :)
8:34 AM
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