Our Megan

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next." ~Gilda Radner

Megan will be so missed. I am still having a hard time believing that she is gone. In June, Megan was told that she was no longer a candidate for the bone marrow transplant. The cancer cells came back and she was too weak for the high dose chemo that she would have needed to prepare her body for such a massive undertaking. The goal was to do whatever they could to keep her alive and comfortable for as long as possible. By the end she was very weak, in extreme pain and so vastly different from the Megan that I remember. The last time I saw her was last Saturday, less than 24 hours before she passed away. That afternoon she had a febrile seizure and ended up in the hospital. She died peacefully the next morning, surrounded by her siblings and husband Tony.
Megan was such a character. She is known for her sense of humor and her ability to weave an ordinary story into something hilarious. She was always the life of the party, and the friend that you would call when you wanted validation after doing something indulgent. I met her in college, our first day of college as a matter of fact, and we have been the best of friends ever since. She grew up in Milwaukee and I in Downers Grove, and by the grace of God she married a guy from the western suburbs and ended up living in my hometown. For the past 2 and a half years we have lived just a couple of miles away from eachother, which has been an amazing gift.

Her legacy is her beautiful sons, Mason, 3, and Michael, 1. At the end she spoke of how painful it was to think of her boys growing up without their mother. This was certainly the most difficult part of her illness and at the same time, it was what gave her the incredible strength, courage and determination that she demonstrated every single day. She put up one heroic fight for those boys. They are lucky to have such an amazing father in Tony, who loved Megan unconditionally throughout her illness and never stopped believing in her ability to fight.

Megan and Tony


Megan and I in Lake Geneva


Doing what we did best at Ann's wedding


With our college roommates


Ann, Megan and I

I will never understand why Megan was taken from us so young, when she had such important roles in life as a mother, wife and friend. I can only honor her and her life, and help keep her memory alive for her family. Goodbye, Megan, until we meet again......