At the end.......

The 17 year old girl that I last blogged about, Miryah, died yesterday.  The last few days I witnessed her change for the worse.  She stopped speaking, stopped focusing, stopped using her hands.....she wasn't there......and that was hard to see.  To make matters worse, she lives in a section of town that lost electricity this week.  The high was 114 degrees on the day she lost electricity.  Mark and I took ice, fans that were battery operated, and flashlights.  A nice electrician (actually 2) came over and hooked a generator up for them and got their a/c working.  Prior to that her mom had packed ice around her to keep her cool.  Can you imagine?  Over 100 degrees outside and your packing your child with ice to keep them alive.

I knew yesterday that things were not good....I couldn't stop praying.  Mark, Autumn, and I had planned to go to a movie that afternoon so I had planned to stop by their home afterwards (it would have been around 8).  I don't have any regrets about being with my family at the movies when I got the call.....but I knew it was coming.

Another person and I arrived at Miryah's home shortly after 7:30.  She had passed away around 7.  I was there with her mom when she called the coroner and there when he arrived.  I was there to watch her body be taken, I was there as her mom started discussing memorial arrangements.  It was then I realized how much a part of Miryah's life I was.  I watched her boyfriend cry over her, I watched her grandmother be strong in talking to the many people who came in and out writing reports on her, carrying her body, asking questions, I watched her leave her home.  I did talk to her...told her how proud I was, and how loved she was.

Through the past 6 months so many people have listened to me and prayed for me and Miryah and her family.  I have witnessed people give their time, money, food, resources and prayer to help a family in need.

It was the right time for Miryah to go.  She was not the girl that I met in January.  She had dealt with cancer for over 2 years.  She fought hard.  She would have turned 18 on August 13th.  She told me last week that she would give anything to be back in school.  Then she turned away with tears in her eyes.  She has taught me so much.  It was only 6 months....but I LOVED this child.  I will miss her.