I experienced something for the first time this week - one of my friends from high school passed away after fighting a valiant battle with lymphoma cancer. She was 22 years old. She graduated from Utah State University with a degree in Music Therapy not even 2 months before she started her battle with cancer.
I have been following her story for a long time on her blog: http://celestepoll.blogspot.com. When I saw the post on the 9th that she had passed away I felt a deep sense of sadness for the pain her family must be experiencing to see such a beautiful and promising life taken too soon. I know that there is life after death and that Celeste is now free from pain in the loving arms of our Heavenly Father. What makes me ache is to know that her parents had to say goodbye to their child and be separated for a time. I am very grateful for the knowledge of the gospel that can bring much needed peace at a time like this.
I also found out not long ago that one of our good friends from a previous ward had a baby girl that is around the same age as Nathan. Beautiful little Emmalyn has been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. This is from Emmalyn's mother, "As some of you may know, our daughter Emmalyn was diagnosed with the genetic disease Cystic Fibrosis just shortly after she was born. "CF" is basically a life threatening disease that affects her respiratory and digestive systems. At this point, there is no cure for CF. There are many treatments being developed and researched, but that research needs our help to see it through. Our hope is that there will soon be a cure for our little Emma!"
Jake and I have decided to participate in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's "Great Strides Walk." This walk is a fundraising event to help raise money for cystic fibrosis research. If you would like to join the walk or donate to this wonderful cause, even just a few dollars, please follow this link here: http://www.cff.org/great_strides/dsp_donationPage.cfm?registeringwalkid=7975&idUser=524056
I have gotten a great taste of how fragile life is lately. I will hold my family a little tighter, do everything that I can to improve this life, and continue to move forward. We pray for peace and help for all of these struggling families and we wish we could do more.
Love, Shayla
1 comment:
This past December I lost a childhood friend to CF. He left behind him a widow, who is only 21 years old. They had been married for 6 short months when Spencer passed away. Losing someone so soon is always hard, and it impacts so many. The blessing of the gospel, and knowing the plan of salvation helps a lot... but knowing you have the love and support of friends and family provide a physical comfort. Nothing says 'I'm here for you' like a tight hug from someone who loves you. :)
Post a Comment