In Memory of Jennifer Esposito

Death is a funny topic. It's a fate we're all going to meet sooner or later but just thinking about it can be scary. How or when are we going to go? Are we going to accomplish all the things we want to before it happens?

The reason I have this on my mind is because the sister of my dear friend Kim, passed away in the early hours of Saturday, the 12th, from Leukemia. Jenn was only 28 and suffered for a whole year. From the start, the doctors said her chances of surviving were only 20% but with a bone marrow transplant in December, things really started to look positive. It was miraculous enough that they found a perfect match in "Fred", the name the Esposito family dubbed the donor. But the effect of the transplant didn't last long. Her condition worsened. When I last spoke to Kim a week ago, she told me that Jenn had only a matter of days. I was in shock. I knew she had been sick but I thought for some reason, another miracle was on it's way.

It was not meant to be.

I don't know why some people go sooner than others. I don't think we're supposed to know those kind of things anyway. Maybe when we die ourselves we'll know a little better how God works but I do know this: good people suffer on earth so their suffering in Purgatory is shorter. A minute there feels like years! A week feels like centuries. The more they suffer on earth, the quicker their trip to Heaven is.

Of course, you may just believe when you die, you stay in the ground to decay but I wouldn't be writing all this if I didn't believe it. And I hope the Esposito family takes comfort in knowing that the whole year Jenn suffered wasn't for nothing. That girl was incredibly brave. To be told you only have a 20% chance of survival? And then be able to smile, laugh and joke after that? I don't know how I'd be but I do know Jenn handled it a lot better than someone people might. Though she was human and scared of what lay ahead, she was still a trooper. I hope to walk in her name this coming October with Kim, family and friends.

Her wake last night was tough and I can't imagine what the funeral will be like but I do know that the family is a rare breed and they'll pull through. Her life here may be over but her memory is forever.

Rest in Peace Jenn
12/31/81 - 6/12/10