Okay, this one is definitely NOT fun. But it is real.
And we like to share things that are fact-based and real around here. In much the same way that we’ve shared the stories of Steve Vaught (aka ‘Fat Man Walking’… his words, not mine), Cancer Giggles — a site bringing joy to people living with cancer, and Mike’s secret blog for his pregnant wife called Love Lori, among others.
Today’s entry is about AT and BJ.
I first heard about their story through a friend of a friend over at the TennesseeBloggers.com website. Then some Rocky Top Brigaders went above and beyond to spread the prayer chain.
The end result was certainly something no one could have predicted. Especially since it happened so fast…
Yesterday, AT lost his 29-year-old wife, BJ. He is now a widower at 28, and a single father of 2 young sons.
What started as “flu-like symptoms” on October 30, 2006 ultimately claimed BJ’s life just 18 days later on November 17, 2006.
I share AT’s story with you, for the same reason that he says he continues to write in his blog about it… with the hope that it will help someone else.
I will continue writing about my experiences, because it is therapeutic, and because maybe it will help you.
Trust me when I say, reading about what he went through… the ups, the downs, the emotional rollercoasters, the family turmoil, the support, the prayers, the lack of feeling, and the unknown… will definitely have an effect on you.
I spent several hours reading his blog last night and I stayed up way later than I had intended — simply because I could not pull myself away from AT’s touching story.
He has always had a blog (called AtomicTumor, hence the ‘AT’), and like most bloggers, he continued to write through the early stages of BJ’s illness. I’m certain that he would never have thought that he could write at such great lengths and with such great detail about something so tragic. But that’s just how it happened.
Blogs are like that. They are therapeutic, and raw, and real. And they enable us to write about whatever it is we are going through at the moment.
This is AT’s story… AtomicTumor.com
Just as touching are the hundreds (if not thousands) of commenters, many of whom have shared their own experiences in dealing with the same thing.
LissaKay, a friend of theirs, talks about the Memorial Fund for BJ Kilpatrick
on her blog. She also shares pictures of BJ (click “that’s not all I have to say” to see them), as well as this video:
Update: Have you ever heard of LifeGem? Me neither, but it’s something interesting that I learned about after reading AT’s blog. Check it out in his November 17th post.
I like to help people find unique ways to do things in order to save time & money — so I write about “outside the box” ideas that most wouldn’t think of. As a lifelong dog owner, I often share my best tips for living with and training dogs. I worked in Higher Ed over 10 years before switching gears to pursue activities that I’m truly passionate about. I’ve worked at a vet, in a photo lab, and at a zoo — to name a few. I enjoy the outdoors via bicycle, motorcycle, Jeep, or RV. You can always find me at the corner of Good News & Fun Times as publisher of The Fun Times Guide (32 fun & helpful websites).
