Thank You, Katie

After nearly 3 and a half years of struggle and perseverance, pain and healing, frustration and accomplishment, doubt and faith, despair and joy, my beloved Katie has completed her miraculous journey through life. I know no one will read this, but I hope perhaps Katie will or perhaps she will just sense that someone she left behind in her earthly existence, someone who loved her more than she ever possibly could have comprehended (and perhaps more than he comprehended) is thinking of her and needing her now as he always did and always will.

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Thank you, Katie, for your laugh, your smile, and your ever-positive and uplifting outlook--you brought happiness to everyone you met.

Thank you, Katie, for never giving in to despair despite countless opportunities to lose hope--you will always be my hero and my inspiration in difficult times (like now).

Thank you, Katie, for always giving and asking so little in return--you left me and so many others enriched with far more than we ever could have given to you in return.

Thank you, Katie, for making me feel needed and a special part of your life--you filled me with purpose and made me a better person in all aspects of my life.

Thank you, Katie, for reminding me of the real priorities in life and bringing me home to Augusta--you brought us so much closer together as a family both physically and emotionally, and this will be one of the countless lasting legacies of your life.

Thank you, Katie, for the friendship and love that you gave to Meredith--you embraced her as a sister from the first time you met her and always made her happy to be a part of our family.

Thank you, Katie, for the short time you gave to Kylie as her adoring aunt--she'll forever be infused with your memory and your spirit and I know that you will continue to love and to guide her into a person worthy of your legacy.

Thank you, Katie, for being a perfect daughter, granddaughter, niece, and cousin--you always made our family so proud and never even came close to forcing them to test the unconditionality of their love for you.

Thank you, Katie, for finding and cultivating so many wonderful friendships and sharing them with us--whether you attracted great people or whether just being around you made them great, I never met a friend of yours that I didn't immediately feel love for.

Thank you, Katie, for being a beacon of joy in my life and in the lives of all who knew you--the beacon's flame is extinguished on earth, but will shine ever brighter in our memories.

Dearest Katie, I can't possibly express in words how much you meant to me and how large a hole your passing has left in my heart. Right now it is hard to imagine what life will be like without you in it. I simply don't have your uncanny ability to see light in total darkness. Right now I'm cycling through a dark series of emotions from incredulity to rage to despair, and the rest of the family is, too. Please minister to us and try to imbue some of your strength on us. I know I don't even need to ask for your help since you have always given so selflessly, but I feel lost and helpless, and perhaps you incorrectly thought that your brother was as strong as you are. Whatever strength I may have shown was simply a channeling of your own.

Katie, I really do thank you for all of the above and for countless other things unwritten and I know you are in a better place and you have higher responsibilities, but we need you now more than ever. Please lend us your hand one more time and guide us towards the light.

Katie, I love you now as always and forever.

Your brother and friend,
Paul