Burning Eyes

The poem below is in response to the message this morning I received about my friend Debbies death today. My heart is heavy. We grew up in Katherine together and Ive known her all my life. About 5 years ago she consumed a contaminated Twiggy Stick from a supermarket in Katherine that was infected with deadly bacteria. Within 1/2 hour of eating it she knew something was terribly wrong. She drove herself to the hospital and lucky the doctors and nurses there knew how to save her life. She was put in to an induced coma and stayed that way for 6 weeks, while her legs, fingers and nose died on her body, resulting in amputation. She also lost the function of major organs, especially her kidneys. Her husband and young son (18months) went with her to QLD, but her 3 girls stayed behind in Katherine with Debs sister Donna, until they were reunited in Darwin for their mothers rehab.

Deb lost her husband to an able bodied woman. We talked about it and even though things were rough between them, I said I still saw a lot of love between them, to which she agreed. How gracious is she? That's just a small example of the beautiful person she is.

What is also amazing is that her sister, then developed breast cancer and was able to overcome that as well. Two very strong girls, who don't back down from a fight.