In Memory of...

...my friend SJ. He died on March 10, 2005. He had just turned 25 the day before. He had been battling Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplasia for 10 years. He died of complications from a bone marrow transplant.

He and I were best friends all through elementary and middle school. For some reason, we sort of just went in different paths in high school. We were still friends, just not as close as we once had been. I found out about his death on Saturday. It was so odd because my mom and I were just thinking about him the other day. During dinner, she had read me the wedding announcement of his sister. She is to get married in mid-April. I was out with my sis, bro-in-law, and their kids when my mom called.

Mom: Stephen. Remember we were talking about SJ the other day?
Me: Yeah...
Mom: Well, he died on March 10th...
Me: (in disbelief) What?!?!?!

I still can't believe it. I am about to go to his funeral and I can't stop thinking about him. We have the same name, he is my age (I am 2 days older), we played basketball together in elementary school and for the Park Rec team, we ran cross country together, we were in Boy Scouts together, we went to the same church, we spent the night together all the time...the list goes on. To know that I will experience things that he never will is just too much for me to think about. I don't think I have thought about someone as much as I have thought about him in the last 24 hours. We used to spend so much time together. We would call each other when were were younger with the same intro:

SJ: May I speak to Stephen?
Me: This is Stephen.
SJ: Hey Stephen, this is Stephen.
Me: Hey Stephen!

We were such dorks. When I read his obituary, it was like reading mine. He loved to mountain bike (I like to road bike), workout, spend time with friends and family, lover of life, etc.

I'm just sick over this and can't stop thinking about it. I wish I had known him better as we were getting older...I wish we hadn't lost touch...I wish we had been as close as we once were...

I'm sorry...I will miss you...please know that you were/are an important part of my life...

You will be missed...