It was early last week that I got word that one of my dearest friends was ill and would not make it through the next day. Brooke had suffered from Cystic Fibrosis for her whole life. She lived well beyond what was expected. She lived through many treatments, and even a liver transplant. She was a real fighter. But, it seemed that her illness was taking it's last toll, which would be her life.
I met Brooke about three years ago at a Halloween dance. I was dressed as a cop, but it quickly turned into me being a "hot cop". I was new to the singles ward, and did not know many people. I was introduced to a girl in my ward named Brooke, who just happened to be a real "hot cop". What a coincidence, and it was then that we became very close to each other. But, if you want to go even farther back you find that we had probably met before. We were born on the same day, in the same hospital in Utah, more than 22 years earlier. Now we were dancing together at a Halloween party. What a small world we live in.
For the next 3 years we hung out, and were very close. I spent almost every evening at her place after work playing games, watching movies, laying on her water bed talking about life and making animal noises. She was not able to leave her home very much because she was on oxygen. Her little lungs were failing her, and she was waiting for a double lung transplant. It would be a transplant that would never happen. I had no problem spending all my spare time at her place, I knew that she had no options, and that I loved her to much to leave here alone.
She would call me in the middle of the night because she thought she heard someone creeping outside her window, or because she saw a mouse run across her bedroom floor. She always seemed to look to me to be her little protector, although I don't think I did too much. We were close friends, and we shared a bond that is something that I will never forget.
She entered the hospital just a couple of weeks ago. She wasn't feeling well. It was there that she went into a coma, and then her lungs began to shut down. She was put on a respirator and life support. She would never wake up. She became unresponsive, and her family knew that her time was short. It was at 8:30am on July 13th, that Brooke Alisha Porter left this fail existence to join her Heavenly Parents above, never to live another day in her broken weak body.
I hurt so much inside to know that I would not be able to be there by her side. I was torn because I was not able to say goodbye. I was just too far away. With or without me, she was ready to go, she was ready to move on to bigger and better things.
I will miss Brooke. She was so beautiful and talented. She loved life, and never complained. She had a knowledge of the greater things in life. She allowed me to cry, and to laugh. She helped me to love and to forgive. She taught me to see the beauty in all the world around me. She was an anchor and a light that has burned into me that I will never forget. She will be missed, but she will never be forgotten. I look forward to the day when I will be able to see her again, and to greet her on the other side of the veil. She was a sweet spirit and angel. She chose the better part. She is now with her Heavenly Father, and she is blessing the lives of those on the other side just like she blessed so many live on this side. I love you Brooke! I will miss you! Till we meet again!
