Awhile back I started sharing my story about Leigh with everyone, but I've been off track for awhile. If you want to know the beginning read about it here. And the next few days here.
After Leigh was released from the hospital, and back to a more normal version of herself - it took awhile to recover from brain surgery, go figure - it was time to plan her wedding. It was such a great thing for her to be planning during that time because she was over-occupied with excitement! Chris had proposed in October, and less than two months later she was in the hospital getting ready for emergency brain surgery. Talk about a whirlwind of emotions!
But, back to the wedding. She found the perfect dress, a great place to hold the ceremony and the reception, and her hair was even growing back nicely. (Although, I should add that she claimed she had a mullet, but no one else saw that! You can judge for yourself. I loaded the picture several times trying to get it to look as clear as it does on my computer, but I think this is as good as it gets.)
I'm sure the next few months flew by for her. She started chemo via a pill called Temodar. We fondly refer to the "Temodar days" because she basically led a normal life during that time. She did her 5 day round of pills about every 6 weeks, and of course was still being poked and proded, but she was able to still do anything she wanted. There was a scare or two about the levels of her white blood cells, and even one frantic message from the nurse that she needed to "get to the hospital immediately for a blood tranfusion," but in the end that never happened - at least not then - and she was smart, spunky, sarcastic Leigh, with just bit of bite, as Chris would say.
Before the wedding came her all important Bachlorette Party. She was a little nervous about this party, so to help calm her nerves I thought I would fly out, get us a nice hotel room for the weekend, and party with her. I really didn't have the extra cash lying around, but this was one of those times when the money was secondary to the cause. It was this weekend that really put our relationship on another level.
Leigh and I had always gotten along. Mostly because I enjoyed her sense of humor, and could handle her blatant opinions (something that frequently found her with her foot in her mouth). But, we had never spent much time together one on one. It was always with groups visiting for some occasion. This weekend proved we were meant to be close as sisters, which in the end (and via marriage) we were.
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