Sunday, April 19, 2009

KEEP BELIEVING!

I could say a great deal about Angie. And I've never met her. She is full of grace, and has the courageous spirit of a warrior woman.

She has a blog called Keep Believing. There she has chronicled her life with her husband, Brian, and her two boys, Gavin & Grant.

Today, Angie should be celebrating her 12th wedding anniversary with her husband, Brian. But, she can't do that. Because Brian lost his long battle with cancer last month on March 17th. He was diagnosed with a serious brain tumor one month after their wedding in 1997.

Angie started her blog to write about her journey having a husband with terminal cancer. Today she is writing about what it is like with him gone. She writes letters to Brian.

In a recent post she writes:

"Dear Brian,

The boys and I are still so curious about heaven. Can you see us? Can you hear us? We hypothesize about it and share our theories. Gavin insists it is full of sand and ponds and houses because he saw a picture in a children's Bible one time. Grant wonders if there is pizza in heaven. I just wonder at the amazing unknown of it all.

The memory of the last week of your life is fading from me. I think I am grateful for that. At the same time, it scares me a bit about how everything else may fade. I look through pictures frequently to keep your smile embedded in my mind. I recap events for the boys of things they did with you and things we did long before they were born in order to keep alive the memories that I know will be nearly impossible for their young minds to retain until their own adult life."


Take a moment today to look around you. To breathe in the sky. To hug someone. And to tell them that you love them. Most of all, say a prayer for Angie and her boys, Gavin & Grant. Better yet, go visit her at Keep Believing and leave her a message of support.


Brian Edward O'Neill
November 2, 1972 - March 17, 2009





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11 comments:

  1. Oh gosh, I am a weepy mess! I wrote so many similar letters. I know her pain is still very fresh, but she is strong, and has a very powerful support system that I really wish I had had during my hardest months.

    Happy Anniversary, and Keep Believing!

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  2. This is wonderful. The idea behind this is amazing and I cannot imagine how Angie will feel when she opens her reader today.

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  3. Thank you for sharing this. Just thank you.

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  4. My heart just hurts for Angie. I wish there is some way we could do more.

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  5. This woman's story just hurts my heart. Thanks for sharing it.

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  6. Thank you for your Keep Believing post. It means so much to me that so many were able to do it, and from Angie's post I think we did a good thing and that it really is helping her through a terribly difficult day. Her blog roll looks incredible! Heather

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  7. Jen, it's wunderful to see her still with a smile & hopefully, many reasons to continue living a full life.
    Life is a series of Hello's & Good Bye's.

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  8. JCK, you are a kind soul. I'm headed over there now.

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  9. Oh my! I'm all teary now, yet I feel my tears are an injustice to her when she is so strong... God Bless her children and her...

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  10. JCK! This post is so great. Thank you so much for being a part of a day that could have been so much more painful. I was absolutely shocked and humbled.

    THANK YOU THANK YOU!

    keep believing

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