Rest in Peace, Jesse.
I think I'll separate my entries today in one happy and one sad. I'll start with the sad.
Over the past couple of years, I have grown really close with TJ's cousin Megan. She lives in Connecticut with her boyfriend, who she's been with for 10 years, and her parents live in Romney. Due to distance, I haven't gotten to meet her in person, but we've spent hours on the phone and texting since we've gotten to know each other. She had sent me a message on Facebook the other night telling me to call her because she was at her mom and dad's. I thought this was weird because she was supposed to be in for a visit but not for a few more weeks. I made note of it, forgot until she sent me another message yesterday evening asking me to please call her. I did not get the news I expected.
She answered the phone, but I couldn't even tell it was her. I asked for her, she identified herself, I asked her how she was, and she told me she was horrible. Yesterday, her boyfriend of 10 years, Jesse, died.
She said that the other night, he had a couple of seizures (which he started having frequently over the past year or so) and was complaining of severe chest pain. She called an ambulance. His heart stopped in transit and didn't start beating again until 40 minutes had gone by. By that time, he was brain dead. They unplugged his ventilator yesterday. They found a blot clot in his lung and at least three in his leg.
I only talked to Jesse a couple of times, but one conversation we had always stuck with me. We had one of those once-in-a-lifetime perspective conversations about relationships, art, interests, our neuroses. Some of the things he said to me never left my memory. To learn that he died, caused two reactions in me -- a great sense of sadness for Megan and a feeling of loss of someone who touched my life in some way without ever having met me.
I cannot imagine was she is going through right now. It hits close to home in some ways because TJ and I have been together almost exactly the same amount of time. Jesse and I even talked about this and how you know you've found "the one." They went through so many things together -- some horrible, some wonderful, but stayed by each other's side no matter what. Even though they were never married, Jesse truly spent the rest of his life with the woman he loved.
I am still in shock over this, even despite the number of health problems he was starting to deal with. I'm glad to have Megan living closer to me, but I never, ever wanted it to happen like this.
Rest in Peace, Jesse.
Over the past couple of years, I have grown really close with TJ's cousin Megan. She lives in Connecticut with her boyfriend, who she's been with for 10 years, and her parents live in Romney. Due to distance, I haven't gotten to meet her in person, but we've spent hours on the phone and texting since we've gotten to know each other. She had sent me a message on Facebook the other night telling me to call her because she was at her mom and dad's. I thought this was weird because she was supposed to be in for a visit but not for a few more weeks. I made note of it, forgot until she sent me another message yesterday evening asking me to please call her. I did not get the news I expected.
She answered the phone, but I couldn't even tell it was her. I asked for her, she identified herself, I asked her how she was, and she told me she was horrible. Yesterday, her boyfriend of 10 years, Jesse, died.
She said that the other night, he had a couple of seizures (which he started having frequently over the past year or so) and was complaining of severe chest pain. She called an ambulance. His heart stopped in transit and didn't start beating again until 40 minutes had gone by. By that time, he was brain dead. They unplugged his ventilator yesterday. They found a blot clot in his lung and at least three in his leg.
I only talked to Jesse a couple of times, but one conversation we had always stuck with me. We had one of those once-in-a-lifetime perspective conversations about relationships, art, interests, our neuroses. Some of the things he said to me never left my memory. To learn that he died, caused two reactions in me -- a great sense of sadness for Megan and a feeling of loss of someone who touched my life in some way without ever having met me.
I cannot imagine was she is going through right now. It hits close to home in some ways because TJ and I have been together almost exactly the same amount of time. Jesse and I even talked about this and how you know you've found "the one." They went through so many things together -- some horrible, some wonderful, but stayed by each other's side no matter what. Even though they were never married, Jesse truly spent the rest of his life with the woman he loved.
I am still in shock over this, even despite the number of health problems he was starting to deal with. I'm glad to have Megan living closer to me, but I never, ever wanted it to happen like this.
Rest in Peace, Jesse.