Megan, the friend I needed at a time when she needed me. Our friendship blossomed as we cherished each others compassion, ability to confide and share our lives like windows into each other's worlds. She saw life as beautiful in everything and everyone. Walking on a beach with her feet in the sand was a simple pleasure she would pine for when winter began. Her dreams were endless and her focus so clear.
She adored nature and all that it encompassed of the plants ,flowers and trees. She was a fun loving young woman full of light! Woodpeckers held a special place with her. Megan had a pet chicken, a home she was restoring of her Grandmothers, and a path....filled with plans and possibilities! Truly a blessed woman of faith showing her kindness and goodness with every act. Our friendship seemed timeless and it was.
Megan began a journey through that which others merely contemplate the challenges of, including myself. In her mid twenties, she is hit with hard news and truly the unthinkable. How does one make sense of cancer at any age? Her Mother, feeling the trauma of disbelief begins with fervent prayers and as others learn it is done on all fronts.
She shares her news publicly on a forum she loves. First a surgery, radiation and chemo...then more prayers and faith is rewarded....a blessed remission. Sunsets over the water, flowers that bloom and a life filled with hope. A loving Mother embracing a bright future that seems visible on the horizon. The triumph is felt and life is embraced once more.
It is not to be, the remission fades into bone cancer. A chilling message, tears unseen but felt. It can't be real, she is only in her late twenties but it is. More treatments, chemo and she is weakened. There is hope, prayers and faith. She won't give up or give in, she fights. She has chosen her course with her doctor, she believes she will be healed. The unimaginable, brain cancer sets in and more treatments, walking with a cane, struggling to exist and not giving up. Our friendship continues, she writes of pain and perseveres, always questioning how my life is with good spirits. A blood transfusion and the treatments continue. There is a lapse of contact, but she writes on a site based on fiber art all her updates which I read and respond to there. I struggle with the reality, not believing this can continue. There is the why but I relent, I accept and understand I must try to come to terms. I write her, feeling this very strong foreboding...is she ok? She writes of more pain but asks me in her last message about my life's plans and how I am. How very beautiful her spirit truly is.....
There is no response to my last message...... Then I see one, and my instant relief fades to an expression of loss. Her Mother, Darlene has understood my concern and tells me most graciously of her passing on. Megan is now free from worldly concerns. The pain that cancer is and the struggle to overcome that which became overwhelming and seemingly insurmountable is now gone. Megan is 29.
Picture donated in memory of Megan by Lori Christie.
