My Sister
On April 2, 1998, I found out that my sister had leukemia. From what the doctors told her, she decided to try for a transplant and was very hopeful. I wasn't a match, but our brother, Jerry, was and was willing to donate his bone marrow. The transplant was successful and my sister was eager to get home. I visited with her and was very proud of her. She was very friendly and brave at the hospital and knew all the leukemia patients' names, their family members, and always asked about how they were doing even when she didn't feel well.
I went to the Philippines and Thailand for a two-week trip with my friend Susan in October. When we returned, I called to check on her. I was eager to hear how she was doing because there weren't phones where we were. I was told to come immediately. She was in the leukemia intensive care section and very bad. I could tell that she recognized me by her groping handclasp and I told her how proud I was of her and that I loved her and remembered how she had accepted Jesus as her Savior when she was a little girl.
The next morning, she was much worse and had to be put on a respirator. We prayed hard, but lost her courageous battle on October 27, 1998. She was a great woman, sister, friend, daughter, wife, and mother. She has two boys that she dearly loved: Chase and Kirk.
Here is my brother's tribute to our sister that he presented at her funeral:
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Jerry's Tribute to Debbie
When Debbie told me last spring that she had Leukemia, I guess I was mostly in a state of disbelief at first. But then when I finally came out of denial, I was devastated. When she made the decision to go forward with a bone marrow transplant, I wanted to be a part of that for her. When we found out I was a match for this procedure, she was excited, and I was very honored that my bone marrow might be her hope for a cure.
When we did the bone marrow tranplant, she gave me a gift. Little did I know at that time that it would be the last material gift that I would receive from her. And that is what I want to share with you at this time.
She presented me with these dog tags, which to her were a symbol to show people that in her eyes, I was her hero. On the dog tags on says, "Jerry Rupert Watkins - A positive." That was our blood type. On the other tag, it read, "Thank you for the gift of Life, Love, Debbie - August 27, 1998." That was the day that we did the tranplant.
Two months later, to the date, when she passed on, I felt unworthy to wear these anymore, even though the transplant was successful. She died from an unexpected, rare infection. My first thoughts were to bury her gift with her. But something didn't seem quite right with that decision. I realized that she would not have wanted me to do that. I felt she would want me to keep these for always. And I decided I would keep them in remembrance. I don't need them to remember her, because I can remember her in just about everything I see around me.
What these dog tags will remind me of, is not to take my family, my freinds, or life for granted. In my eyes, she was the hero, because she made one of the most difficult of decisions that anyone would ever have to make. She chose to fight.
These will remind me of Debbie's eternal gift to me - not to take life for granted. I had to share her gift to me with you, her friends and her family, because I know that she would want me to share this gift.
Life is too short. One of the last things she said was, "There are so many things to do. I should have done them while I still had the chance." |
Here is a poem that my friend Susan shared with me. I hope it helps you, too:
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Cancer is So Limited
Source Unknown
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It cannot cripple love;
It cannot shatter hope/
It cannot corrode faith;
It cannot eat away peace;
It cannot destroy friendship;
It cannot kill confidence;
It cannot shut out memories;
It cannot silence courage;
It cannot invade the soul;
It cannot reduce eternal life;
It cannot quench God's spirit;
It cannot lessen the power of the resurrection. |
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