Rise Up

My best friend of more than 30 years had gone through some hard times. I had been out of touch with her because her husband was abusive and they had both become alcoholics, it was dangerous to be around her. But we always stayed in each other’s hearts and minds. Two years ago, her house burned down and her husband and dog perished in the fire. She was in a coma for several weeks and I would drive to see her and talk to her in ICU every day. She finally woke up. The doctors said she was lucky and she should have died. She went to rehab and I visited her on visiting days. I helped her find a new place to live while her house was being rebuilt. She also worked on rebuilding her life. We didn’t have to rebuild our relationship, we just picked up where we left off. She would say “be thankful for every day because you never know if you will be here tomorrow”. One day I saw the Rise Up Phoenix Bracelet and I bought it for her. I told her that she was like the Phoenix rising from the fire and rebuilding her life. She loved it and I got one to match her. One month later, almost a year from the date of the fire, she had a heart attack at my house waiting for me to get home from work to go to lunch with her and see her new house. She died at the hospital that afternoon. I wish I had her bracelet, it disappeared at the hospital. She was cremated and she became ashes, like the Phoenix. We had 10 months to remember, laugh and love. I miss my friend. I am so happy I gave her that bracelet to show her how proud I was of her. Thank you Show The Love for giving me that chance and giving her such happiness.