RIP Brian.

The last week or so has been one of the strangest ones I've had in awhile.

I'll be griping and groaning about that in a moment, but I feel I must take a moment to remember my high school classmate, Brian Kadlec, who abruptly passed away today.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that Brian woke up with side pain, which was soon discovered as cancer. Stage 4 Burkitt Lymphoma is what Brian was diagnosed with, and he had, up until today, been going through very rigorous chemotherapy and radiation treatments. I prayed for him whenever I thought of it, remembering how hard it was for my mom and knowing how awful it is on the body. I don't know the details as of yet, but I do know that Brian passed away sometime today. I've been sitting here, at my computer, for several minutes now. All of my issues, all of my griping seem so much smaller by comparison. Brian is survived by his wife, whom he just married back in September of 2012. 

I wasn't particularily close with Brian; in fact, I don't think we've had a conversation in a few years.  We went through grade school together; Class of 2004. There's actually a large group of people on Facebook who have stayed connected so we can support each other, even if it's just through the internet. That's actually how I found out; a friend of mine, who was a close friend of his, posted about it. My heart took a nose-dive through the floorboards and straight into the earth. How could someone so young and strong be...dead?

In some ways, this reminds me of the tragic death of my 4-H friend, BJ Wratz, who took a corner too sharp in his motorcycle and died, which then reminds me of my other grade school classmate, Chris Hagerty, who also took a turn too fast (but in a truck, on the dirt road that I lived on) and was ejected from the truck and was killed. It also reminds me of my childhood friend, Brittney, who passed away very shortly after starting chemotherapy for her aplastic anemia. It's just such a shock. If this is what I'm feeling, a person on the outer skirts of his friendship realm, I can't imagine what his family is going through. So please, pray if you do, or send positive vibes, or whatever, to his family whenever you think of it. I know they would appreciate it. 

You know, I don't feel much like griping now. I just want to...sit here. 

Rest in peace, Brian. The pain is over, and you have been released from your body. Your family and friends, even the least of us, will mourn your passing for a long time to come. You will never be forgotten, or far from our thoughts.