Monday, June 13, 2016

Goodbye, my sweet friend

In a few short hours, a good friend of mine will be taken off life support.

I'm numb.

I've lost family members and friends that I've lost contact with. I've dealt with terminal illness, stupid decisions, and suicide.

I've never experienced this type of uncertainty followed by finality.

A little backstory:
My good friend and her partner were in a horrible motorcycle accident exactly a week ago. They were broadsided by a van. She wasn't wearing a helmet.

When they were rushed to the ER, they were both admitted to trauma ICU. He ended up with a few broken ribs, some spinal fractures, and a small brain bleed. He was released a day or two ago. While in the hospital, he didn't remember having a passenger until he was told. He also had some trouble with short term memory and retention.

She broke both the tibia and fibula in her right leg, some facial fractures, a collapsed lung, and fluid on her brain. She was facing amputation of her leg when she had a seizure causing the doctors to remove half her skull to relieve some of the pressure on her brain. She's been in a coma since the accident. Two days ago, her family was told there was a 95% chance that if she survived and woke up, she wouldn't be able to use or understand speech.

Last night, the family made the difficult decision of taking her off life support.

My entire social circle is devastated. She was the kindest, most shining example of what a person should be. She'd tell it like she saw it, good or bad. She loved everyone deeply, unless they gave her a damn good reason not to. Even then, she still loved those people--she just did it from a distance.

I can't imagine what her children, grandchildren, and partner are going through. They were her world, and she was their rock. It's not fair to them. Life is cruel and unforgiving, the polar opposite of her.

In a few short days, 400+ people will file into her services or wish her farewell from where they have to be that day. If that doesn't illustrate how many lives she touched, nothing will. No story or description can do her justice. There are many things in life I wish I could change, none as much as I wish I would have spent more time with her.

Rest my sweet friend. You're time is done, but your light will never be extinguished.