Life is pathetically short...
There are pitfalls and highs, joys and pains, struggles and prideful accomplishments in this momentarily tangy mustard burp that we call life, but it cannot be denied; life is pathetically short.
About three weeks ago, I gave Jessica Hercules Ibanez(Jessie and voodoobanshee) a call. I knew that she had been sick with cancer, but with life getting in the way as it so often does, i had not kept up with the progress of her second battle with cancer...this time, liver cancer. When I called her, I wanted to hear about her successful progression through another painful, debilitating, and tiring battle. I had good news for her; I was about to tell her about my coming marriage and that my fiancee was also pregnant with our first child and I wanted to hear that she was beating cancer for a second time.
Instead, she told me that the chemotherapy did not work. She told me that experimental drugs were not a viable option, and that a transplant would not be a reality because of bureaucracy. She told me that she was in hospice, managing pain, at home, enjoying the company of her daughter, Cindy and her husband, Carlos. She told me that she would live for six months, and possibly more if everything went well...
Of course, at that point, I did not even want to tell her about my exciting future events. I wanted to urge her to fight, take every risk, every chance...and to not give up on chemo, because a world with Jessie in it, is a better one. I brought those fights up and told her all of my news. She and i have known each other for 7 years and she was thrilled to hear that I am about to have a family. I heard her laugh and knew that she was smiling.
We ended the conversation that night with the promise that we would speak again soon. I was about to text her on Wednesday, but work beckoned and I didn't get to it. I was going to text her yesterday, uninterrupted this time, but I spoke to one of our mutual friends, Nicole(nikkiwawa79)...who checked facebook and found that on July 10th, Jessie lost her battle.
17 days after speaking to her, she succumbed to that horrible disease. I know that she is in a better place...that she is no longer in pain, that she will live on in her daughter and that she absolutely enriched the lives of everyone that she ever met, or spoke to, but, without a doubt, life is pathetically short, and this is not fair...tragically not fair to anyone who knew her.
Friends, don't take those that you care for or love, for granted. Support livestrong for the cure, and walk with a smile, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, like Jessie did.
Rest in beautiful peace, Jessica Esmerelda.
Jeff
About three weeks ago, I gave Jessica Hercules Ibanez(Jessie and voodoobanshee) a call. I knew that she had been sick with cancer, but with life getting in the way as it so often does, i had not kept up with the progress of her second battle with cancer...this time, liver cancer. When I called her, I wanted to hear about her successful progression through another painful, debilitating, and tiring battle. I had good news for her; I was about to tell her about my coming marriage and that my fiancee was also pregnant with our first child and I wanted to hear that she was beating cancer for a second time.
Instead, she told me that the chemotherapy did not work. She told me that experimental drugs were not a viable option, and that a transplant would not be a reality because of bureaucracy. She told me that she was in hospice, managing pain, at home, enjoying the company of her daughter, Cindy and her husband, Carlos. She told me that she would live for six months, and possibly more if everything went well...
Of course, at that point, I did not even want to tell her about my exciting future events. I wanted to urge her to fight, take every risk, every chance...and to not give up on chemo, because a world with Jessie in it, is a better one. I brought those fights up and told her all of my news. She and i have known each other for 7 years and she was thrilled to hear that I am about to have a family. I heard her laugh and knew that she was smiling.
We ended the conversation that night with the promise that we would speak again soon. I was about to text her on Wednesday, but work beckoned and I didn't get to it. I was going to text her yesterday, uninterrupted this time, but I spoke to one of our mutual friends, Nicole(nikkiwawa79)...who checked facebook and found that on July 10th, Jessie lost her battle.
17 days after speaking to her, she succumbed to that horrible disease. I know that she is in a better place...that she is no longer in pain, that she will live on in her daughter and that she absolutely enriched the lives of everyone that she ever met, or spoke to, but, without a doubt, life is pathetically short, and this is not fair...tragically not fair to anyone who knew her.
Friends, don't take those that you care for or love, for granted. Support livestrong for the cure, and walk with a smile, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, like Jessie did.
Rest in beautiful peace, Jessica Esmerelda.
Jeff