Published on May 7th, 2007.
Viewed 921 times.
Story rank of 10.
It was an unlikely meeting, an unlikely place, a connection that would bring us 1000 miles to be together!
It was the Winter of 2001 and David's life turned in a direction he could never have expected. David was a healthy college freshman, enjoying campus life and his new found freedom, when two events would change his life. It was within 2 short months that he would learn of the death of his brother Aaron, and face his own battle of life and death. Christmas was always a time of joy for David and his family, but this year was very different. They learned that their son and brother, Aaron was missing from college, and eventually found out that he was murdered. At this same time David was suffering from various unexplained medical problems, headaches, nose bleeds, dizziness, and blurred vision. He went through many medical tests, eventually to learn that he had brain cancer. This began for him chemotherapy and radiation treatment which kept him bedridden for many weeks. At the end he was faced with the task of learning to walk again and to rebuild the muscles in his body which had atrophied over the many weeks he spent in a hospital bed. The loss of his brother served as David's inspiration to heal himself, and he did.
In the Fall of 2003, my own life was forever changed. My best friend Patrick died the morning of October 23rd, after a 5 year battle with Cancer. I deeply missed having him to talk to and share things with. I knew that what I had to do was to find a way to transform my own despair and sadness into something meaningful, profound. Patrick had often told me wonderful stories of his summer trips to 'Camp Mak-A Dream', a camp for children and young adults with cancer. I thought that visiting this place, which gave Patrick a connection with others experiencing the same life changing event, could change me as well. So in July of 2004 I traveled to Montana to volunteer at the camp, not knowing what to expect, but knowing at the same time that this was where I needed to be. I was late to the airport for the flight, and with tears in my eyes went to the desk, having to tell the attendant that I needed a new flight, feeling as though this was the sign that I should not go. As I was waiting for him to find me another flight, or so I thought, I grew more tearful and inpatient, he then told me that his causal response was because my flight was delayed an hour and that he needed only to check me in. It was at this moment that I felt Patrick was with me and wanted me to go.
It was at Camp-Mak-A-Dream that I met David. We were very casual acquaintances at the Camp, having minimal interactions. I was dating someone else at the time and David was also involved with someone else. I found David funny and charming but thought little else about our interactions. At the end of the week it turned out that David and I were going to the airport at the same time. He came over to me and held my hand and told me that it was nice to meet me, very casual, impromptu. At the moment he held my hand a shock ran through my body, as he was walking away I sat dumbfounded, what had just happened, what did that mean? I hardly knew, and explained it to myself as my emotions about connecting with Patrick. After I returned home I sent notes to everyone that I had taken pictures with during the week at Camp. David called me to say thank you and there began our friendship. We would talk for a few months very casually, hi how are you, how is school? Those sort of calls. As time passed we grew to talk longer and longer, about our lives, our dreams, and became great friends. I remember one night realizing that what I found in David was what I had lost when Patrick died and that was a great friend. I had no idea if this could be more, but David had already begun to think about this himself. He bravely decided to visit me in March 2005, for us to spend some time together, as he lived in Georgia and myself in Pennsylvania. I drove to the airport with knots in my stomach, talking to my mother on the phone, trying to get her to give me a reason to turn around and go home. I prevailed and when I saw David at the gate we knew. The months that followed we flew back and forth to see each other. David proposed at the Rainbow Room in New York City in November 2005, and we were married on October 21, 2006. It is now that I know that Patrick and Aaron wanted us to meet, for us to find best friends in each other, as we had both lost our best friends, and to share a beautiful life together, and so we thank them for bringing us together!
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