Em loved life and all that it can offer and she lived it fully. She also loved people and treated each with care and respect. She was an awesome friend to many, talented athlete, adored sister to Sarah, beloved daughter and child of God. She had a deep relationship with Christ and because of that has a new residence in Heaven.
Emily’s life ended abruptly after the car she was a passenger in lost control while traveling too fast for road conditions. The car then hit an embankment and the vehicle got airborne and then rolled, pinning Emily. The driver and Emily were 16 years old at the time and innocently enough were returning from riding in a combine with a friend who was farming on a Tuesday afternoon after school. (the driver walked away uninjured for those who may not know the situation and are curious)
Emily was retrieved from under the vehicle and transported by helicopter to the hospital. Though she was rendered paralyzed with a break at her C-5, she remained positive and upbeat wanting to see her friends and family and telling each “I’m Okay”. She told her mother at the accident site that she knew she was paralyzed but not to worry because she was “Okay.” She thought of others even though she would be reeling from the knowledge that her life as she knew it would never be the same. She survived for a week before suffering heart failure due to complications from a high fever. The fever came on fast and with no explanation and after 4 days in the hospital. We, her family, are most grateful for that additional week, as many people aren’t given even an additional day with their loved ones after such a tragedy. We read scripture over her and lovingly took care of her. The Lord was in our midst and we found incredible amounts of support through all those people that cared for us during that time and for the many months thereafter. We all had much in common as we all loved Em.
With life comes choices and consequences. Our hope is for all of us to choose wisely and behave responsibly because our lives impact others, whether positively or negatively. It can be our biggest sense of success or the most gnawing feeling of failure.
In Em’s death, we are left with a huge void that mere words can not explain. But in Em’s life she had a positive impact on all that knew and loved her and even on those that have heard about her. Em’s choice for Christ and the way she lived her life left her a legacy of love that continues. For those that believe, we have the assurance of seeing her again when we too get “Home”.