Goodbye sweet Joelle

Well, this is a sad post... my friend from college... Joelle Manganaro passed away last night.

Joelle and I were roomies for a bit but more importantly shared a million laughs. She, Bill and I were like the rat pack...

Jo has been sick for a long time... we lost touch for a few years and found each other again last January. From the moment we started talking again...she was sick. Brain cancer, Lupus flare ups, ovarian cancer, stomach cancer... ER visits every week, throwing up for days at a time... surgery after surgery after surgery.

The ironic thing is...we spoke on Saturday and although she was sad at the thought of leaving her boyfriend and her daughter... she said this was no quality of life...and if this was it... she'd rather go. I'd never heard her say that before. I don't think she gave up, I think she just accepted it and realized that she may not live long.

We talked about God a lot... we talked about how He could let her suffer and be so sick...for so long. I promised her that although I didn't have every answer, I KNEW that He was with her and that He was shattered by her pain. He loves her and cares for her and is with her EVERY SINGLE STEP. I don't know where her heart finally fell.. but I believe she loved the Lord even though this was so horrible.

She said the pictures I sent her of Tristan made her heart smile. My angel made her smile and now may she be rejoicing in the heavens!

Goodbye to my sweet friend... you will be missed.