Melancholy

I am sure this won't make sense and will be just me rambling on please indulge me. I have been a bit melancholy since Saturday. See a friend of ours lost her battle with ovarian cancer after nearly 14 years. We were friends but we weren't particularly close. Dan met Jim and Diane while he was a Lt. in the Army it was his first assignment and they all seemed to get along really well and for 4 years Dan hung out with them. Dan still recalls saying to Jim "so what's the deal with this Diane chick" Time went on and they moved in their different ways always keeping in touch. Jim was a saber bearer at our wedding in 1999. It was there I first met Diane and she was a lovely woman. We saw each other off and on over the years and they ended up having their finally 2 assignments in the DC area to allow for Diane to be treated here vs. a smaller military facility elsewhere in the country.

When we learned 3 or so months ago that the cancer had spread yet again and at this point was terminal we really didn't know what to say or do. Dan saw Jim a few times and I asked him always to pass on my well wishes. In September a website was set up to help those friends around the country and locally to keep up with Jim ,Diane and Tyler their only son. I checked there often and always said a prayer for Diane after each visits.

Diane was able to spend Christmas with her family at home, she went in to the hospital Jan 3rd to drain fluid from her lung unfortunately the tube inserted to help drain the fluid caused a blood clot that eventually took Diane's life.

Friday last week I checked the website hoping to see a positive update, instead there was no update and that day unlike other days I had a sinking feeling that something was wrong. My sinking feeling was right Diane passed at 4:10 surrounded by loved ones.

She and Jim made a great team he was a loving husband and is a great father. While I wasn't extremely close my heart aches for them. This has been a long battle and I pray that Diane is "hanging with the angels" looking down on all of us saying "don't worry I'm at peace now"

Diane was not much older then me and spent nearly a third of her life battling this horrible disease, I can't help but think how incredibly lucky I am to be healthy and I am not going to take that for granted moving forward.