It is with a very heavy heart that I am letting you know that I've lost my amazing beloved sister, Linda. She was not only my big sister, but my mother and my best friend. A big piece of my heart is missing.
I know some of you have been praying for her the last two years and I thank you for your prayers and kind thoughts & words. Linda also wanted me to thank you all; she fought and never quit fighting, and beat a 7-months-to-live prognosis by over two years. She felt strongly about the power of prayer, and was extremely touched and knew that it helped her that so many kind people on this site were thinking of her and sending prayers and vibes.
Linda was a small child herself when our dad asked her to take care of her little sibling because he knew our mother was self-absorbed and incompetent to care for anyone. He asked the same of her later, and again when I was born, too, and she stepped up to the plate without hesitation and became our mother. She saved all her siblings' lives, some more than once, and helped us to cope, in a thousand ways, with the abuse and violence we all had to endure from our mother.
She is the only one who gave me unconditional love as a child, and because of that gift, I had a chance to later have a happy life, with a loving husband and to pass on unconditional love for my daughter.
She died on Sept. 16, but I haven't had the heart to write here before now. My husband was in the middle of a two-week business trip in Europe; he flew home immediately and we all flew to Texas to be with Linda's family. She did not want a memorial, but two of her three children felt it would really help them so family and a few close friends were invited.
Word of mouth spread and there were hundreds of people at her service! The crowd spilled out of the room and into the hallway and down into the lobby. We were surprised to meet many nurses who worked with her from M.D. Anderson - we thought they must keep a professional distance, yet there they were. We also met pharmacists from the CVS where she got her medications, and even the attorneys who worked with us after our dad died came to pay their respects. One attorney told us Linda helped him so much this summer when his mother died that we'll never receive another bill from him.
Lots of people contacted her family after the memorial because they found out later about her passing. People brought food and flowers and cards to the house many times every day while we were there. I just didn't realize how many people loved her and her family!
Another thing I didn't realize was how many people considered her their best friend! Her address book was FULL of cell phone numbers of people who called her for advice or just to talk and feel better; from the director of M.D. Anderson to the guy who bagged her groceries at the store.
Imagine someone who, every time you talk to her, makes you feel better about yourself and makes the future seem a little brighter. When you have a problem, she gently guides you to think and talk about it until you come up with a good plan to make it better. She never, ever, hurt your feelings or made you feel bad in any way. And when you had good news, she never had even a glimmer of envy or jealously; she genuinely and absolutely shared in your joy!
Even during the last 9 months, when the particularly aggressive melanoma she was fighting attacked her nerve endings and made her feel like she was on fire, she never said a cross word, never complained, never griped once, never snapped at anybody. Even at the very end she was thinking of others and helping them, and doing things for them.
Linda and I talked on the phone almost every day for the last 2 years, even when she didn't feel up to it we'd talk, I believe she did that for me. I had the chance to tell her how much I love her, many times, and she told me I was helping her. Three months before she died, she called to say that something had changed in her body and she wasn't sure she would make it. She said she wasn't giving up, but "just in case" we should talk. We said our goodbyes that day, it was horribly difficult, but we got to say everything we wanted the other to know. I cried for weeks after that, but now when I look back on that conversation I feel comforted.
Thank you, my friends, for reading this far. I have no doubt that your prayers and vibes and good thoughts helped Linda fight for so long.
this is the sweet face of the sister who took care of me
I know some of you have been praying for her the last two years and I thank you for your prayers and kind thoughts & words. Linda also wanted me to thank you all; she fought and never quit fighting, and beat a 7-months-to-live prognosis by over two years. She felt strongly about the power of prayer, and was extremely touched and knew that it helped her that so many kind people on this site were thinking of her and sending prayers and vibes.
Linda was a small child herself when our dad asked her to take care of her little sibling because he knew our mother was self-absorbed and incompetent to care for anyone. He asked the same of her later, and again when I was born, too, and she stepped up to the plate without hesitation and became our mother. She saved all her siblings' lives, some more than once, and helped us to cope, in a thousand ways, with the abuse and violence we all had to endure from our mother.
She is the only one who gave me unconditional love as a child, and because of that gift, I had a chance to later have a happy life, with a loving husband and to pass on unconditional love for my daughter.
She died on Sept. 16, but I haven't had the heart to write here before now. My husband was in the middle of a two-week business trip in Europe; he flew home immediately and we all flew to Texas to be with Linda's family. She did not want a memorial, but two of her three children felt it would really help them so family and a few close friends were invited.
Word of mouth spread and there were hundreds of people at her service! The crowd spilled out of the room and into the hallway and down into the lobby. We were surprised to meet many nurses who worked with her from M.D. Anderson - we thought they must keep a professional distance, yet there they were. We also met pharmacists from the CVS where she got her medications, and even the attorneys who worked with us after our dad died came to pay their respects. One attorney told us Linda helped him so much this summer when his mother died that we'll never receive another bill from him.
Lots of people contacted her family after the memorial because they found out later about her passing. People brought food and flowers and cards to the house many times every day while we were there. I just didn't realize how many people loved her and her family!
Another thing I didn't realize was how many people considered her their best friend! Her address book was FULL of cell phone numbers of people who called her for advice or just to talk and feel better; from the director of M.D. Anderson to the guy who bagged her groceries at the store.
Imagine someone who, every time you talk to her, makes you feel better about yourself and makes the future seem a little brighter. When you have a problem, she gently guides you to think and talk about it until you come up with a good plan to make it better. She never, ever, hurt your feelings or made you feel bad in any way. And when you had good news, she never had even a glimmer of envy or jealously; she genuinely and absolutely shared in your joy!
Even during the last 9 months, when the particularly aggressive melanoma she was fighting attacked her nerve endings and made her feel like she was on fire, she never said a cross word, never complained, never griped once, never snapped at anybody. Even at the very end she was thinking of others and helping them, and doing things for them.
Linda and I talked on the phone almost every day for the last 2 years, even when she didn't feel up to it we'd talk, I believe she did that for me. I had the chance to tell her how much I love her, many times, and she told me I was helping her. Three months before she died, she called to say that something had changed in her body and she wasn't sure she would make it. She said she wasn't giving up, but "just in case" we should talk. We said our goodbyes that day, it was horribly difficult, but we got to say everything we wanted the other to know. I cried for weeks after that, but now when I look back on that conversation I feel comforted.
Thank you, my friends, for reading this far. I have no doubt that your prayers and vibes and good thoughts helped Linda fight for so long.
this is the sweet face of the sister who took care of me
what a beautiful tribute to your sister. Linda sounds like a very special person and I wish I had known her. It's amazing how many lives one person can touch. We should all follow her example. My deepest sympathies going out to you and you, your family, and Linda's friends are in my thoughts and prayers. 
I'm so sorry for your loss. Your tribute to her is beautiful, and I'm sure a bit of Linda lives on in you, your siblings, all your children and the other people whose lives she touched. Anybody with such spirit and goodness is never gone completely from your life.
