Elizabeth

 Elizabeth

Random blog today! I'm actually in Florida right now to honor a friend of mine. She passed away about 6 years ago and I've been talking to her sister for a while. We will be meeting tomorrow and will go to a fountain that was erected in her name, then we will be going to her grave. Her sister asked me if I would be willing to write in a little “memory book” at her grave. I said I would and I typed it out just so I knew what I would say. Mom thought it was too long (to be fair she was right), and I would just have to take a small passage from it. I still have the document written and I didn't have a blog to write for this week… so here you go: 

When I was a kid, I was in love with this girl named Sam. Unfortunately she had a rare blood disorder called fanconi anemia. On October 15th 2009, Sam passed away. Over the next 6 months, two more children in my community passed away. These events shook me to my core.

My dad grew up in Florida, and his best friend growing up was Mr. (Martin) Buckley. The summer after Sam died, we went to Florida and saw the Buckley family. I was immediately drawn towards Elizabeth. As the night went on I started to realize there were some similarities between Elizabeth and Sam. These similarities caused me to act strangely around Elizabeth. She eventually caught on and asked me what was wrong.

I told her everything, and in typical Elizabeth fashion she told me everything would be okay (though she said it a little more eloquently). She was amazingly insightful for her age. As a result of the hope she gave me, my life indeed started to get better. Then she got sick.

All I wanted to do was talk through my feelings with Elizabeth, but her passing made me lose all hope. During these difficult times, I missed a Sam's Fans event. Sam's Fans, started by Sam's mom, is a nonprofit organization that raises money to support music and art therapy in Ohio hospitals. After missing this event, I started feeling guilty because Sam was my best friend. All I wanted was to “talk” to Elizabeth so I looked up her obituary. After a little more digging, I discovered a glimmer of hope during these trying times- John Michael’s Peacock Project (the fountain being erected in her name).

The project itself resurrected the hope Elizabeth gave me and I officially joined Sam’s Fans. Elizabeth Buckley was an amazing human being, a good friend, and the person who I credit for getting my life back on track!

Have a Greattastic Day 

J. Mitchie Ulibarri