goodbye
For those of you who may remember from my post back in February, I introduced you to an incredible couple, Kathy and Alex. A few months after they were married, Kathy found out that she had cancer. In February, following a week after my IVF cycle began, Kathy also moved forward with IVF in hopes of freezing her embryos and someday using a surrogate so she and Alex could begin a family of their own. She was able to freeze six embryos successfully. At the time, I had asked that you all send a prayer or a thought her way. Cancer had changed her plans a bit, but she was not about to let that stop her.
On October 8, only a few weeks after celebrating her one year anniversary to her sweet husband, Kathy passed away. This past Sunday, we gathered to celebrate her life. A month has past and I can’t help but ask that you please keep Alex, her family and all those who loved her in your prayers.
I don’t pretend that I was a close friend of Kathy’s. I was an assistant planner at her wedding and I have worked closely with her family’s business for event rentals. Kathy was only 25, but damn if she did not leave an impression. She had a radiant smile and her positivity was one to be reckoned with. On those days when I felt totally helpless and down, I would notice an amazing post on her blog with words that would smack me in the face and remind me that life’s adventures are limitless. As long as we were moving and breathing, why wouldn’t we count every moment as a blessing? She was never afraid to remind anyone of that.
At her “Celebration of Life” on Sunday, her dear friend (and trainer) read a quote that Kathy had on her blog. She wrote it in August 2011, a month before her wedding. At that time, she was blogging about her new, healthier lifestyle and all the craziness of planning a wedding. She did not realize that she was sick. That is why I find this quote so incredible. If only she knew what impact she would truly leave on our lives.
“One thing I thought of was that if you think about it, our lives are kind of like a deadline. I mean, we are not going to live forever and we really don’t have control over when our last day will be. If I got hit by a car and died a few months ago I would have been PISSED: I never got to look like what I have always dreamed of looking like, and I let myself be fat and lazy to the point of low self-esteem and bad work ethic. That’s not how I want to live my life. That’s not how I was to be remembered. I know I am treading on some heavy dirt here, but seriously – NOW is NOW people!! I’m going to push myself beyond my limits to see how far I can go, and not just in my physical body but in my mind, my career, and my ability to help others. THAT is how I want to be remembered!”
A foundation has been created in honor of Kathy in order to help educate, support and raise money to fight Cervical/Uterine Cancer.
www.katherinempotwincancerawareness.com
love to you all,
k