Jennifer, Jessica, Blair, Amanda, Tim W., Chad, Erik, Meghann (not even a year post transplant), Katie K.-S., Megan H. (Team IL), Stephanie W. (also Team IL) and Ana S. (from Team NorCal)
I'm only 35 and I know too many people who have died young. Jennifer was the first one to go from my St. Louis group of 1996. She was 18 months post lung transplant and died on Erik's (yes, the same person mentioned above...I'll get to him later) 1 year anniversary. It was Saturday, September 6, 1997, the same day as Diana, Princess of Wales' funeral (hence why I remember the date) and I remember talking to Erik's mom on the phone. We were discussing the sudden deaths of Diana and Mother Teresa. Right before ending the conversation with Deon, my big mouth had to say, "First Princess Diana, now Mother Teresa. Who's next?" and hung up. Before I could remove my hand from the phone after putting it down, it rang. It was Jennifer's mom, Jane, telling us that their daughter had died only 30 minutes earlier. It took me a long time to not feel guilty over my oddly-timed statement.
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| March, 1997~ Top: Mom & Jennifer, bottom: me and Jennifer's mom, Jane. |
As I mentioned in a previous blog post (Transplant Games--Part 1), I lost track of my St. Louis friends but over the years learned of the passings of Amanda, Tim and Chad via the internet. Erik's was different. He and I were the only heart/double lung recipients of 1996 at St. Louis Children's Hospital. We were one of the few who didn't/don't have CF, so our families very much stayed in touch over the years, even after we stopped going to St. Louis. I always received the "Weekly Wentzel" via my e-mail so, over time, I learned that Erik was not doing well. I knew he received a living donor lung transplant (via his dad and cousin) in 2004 but still wasn't doing well and was hospitalized often.
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| December, 2001~Erik and me. This would be the last time I would see him alive. |
In April of 2007 Erik was hospitalized (again) and was planning his own funeral. Even then, he was able to be funny (he wanted to be tossed into the ground in a sack!) though the morning of his death, I was still devastated.
The way I learned of Katie K.'s passing was a bit unusual. She and I stayed in touch over the years via e-mail, AOL messenger, MySpace and then Facebook. In fact, it's through her that I got in touch with the other Katie from our group. For three years, us three (who were transplanted within days of each other) were the only ones left from our group.
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| September 10, 1996~L-R: Katie J from Rhode Island, Katie K from Illinois and me. It was a triple going away party for the three of us. For three years (April, 2007-May, 2010) the three of us were the only ones left from our group |
I would go on Katie K's Facebook page occasionally. I was able to see her wedding photos and over time, see for myself as to how she was doing. I found out she'd died when I saw that a friend of hers left a message on her page saying that they'd miss her. WHAT?!?!?! I was stunned! I went to her page, hoping I'd misinterpreted. Sadly, I hadn't. She had passed away just hours earlier. I felt like someone had knocked the wind out of me. I sent a private message to Katie J (so that she wouldn't find out the way I had) and when I made reference to it (which was only days after Meghann's death) she made a comment that she and I were the only ones left. That left me scared.....
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| July, 1996~a month post-transplant for the both of us! Katie K and me |
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| June, 2001~In Chicago, visiting Katie K. while celebrating her 5 year post-transplant lungiversary! A close-up of her sweet face. |
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