Losing Sarah

Day: 229
High Temp: 83F

Tuesday at lunch I received a call from a former co-worker, informing me that my friend Sarah had lost her battle with cancer. It was shocking news, and I have struggled over the past few days to come to terms with it. Sarah and I were not close friends, but she was a straight genuine lady, and was the only other girl on "frat row" back in the days at WT when Dennis, Shade and Jimmy still worked there.

Sarah started feeling ill in October, and was treated for a range of respiratory disorders that kept increasing in severity. By December, she was having serious back pain along with her difficulty breathing. Soon after, a scan found a mass in her lungs, melanoma, that had metastasized to her spine and hip bone. Sarah learned that it was stage 4 cancer, inoperable and incurable.  She began an aggressive regiment of treatments, including some experimental, but nothing was able to slow or reverse the progress of the cancer within her body.

I followed a blog that she and her family had been keeping, and it was plain that nothing was working. Just 8 weeks after her diagnosis, she was practically bed-ridden. I have been thinking about her so much over the past few months. The phone call on Tuesday confirmed something that I am still having trouble understanding: within 6 months of feeling her first symptom, cancer has taken this otherwise young and healthy woman.

The whole Writers' family is reeling over this, a continuation of the surprise many of us felt upon hearing the news of the diagnosis in January.  I find myself unable to express how it is making me feel, except shocked. I was confused as I watched her Facebook page turn into a memorial board. Both saddened and comforted by it. I am thinking a lot of my Chicago theatre friends who knew and loved Sarah. I am thinking of her family, her parents who seem to be bearing this loss with strength and an openness that all of us who knew Sarah appreciate.

What I can say about Sarah is that she was funny, and tough. She was honest, and didn't put up with anyones bullshit. She was fun to have around. She was a major reason why artists loved to work at WT, and that made all of our jobs easier. Her attitude, even in dealing with this horrible reality of the cancer in her body, was so admirable. She remained strong and positive throughout, exhibiting grace that I am sure I would be incapable of.

I had an errand to run on Tuesday afternoon, shortly after I received the news. I looked up at the sky, bright blue, sunny, breezy, birds singing. It was warm and beautiful and I thought to myself, on a day like today, such sorrow is still possible. On any day, such sorrow is possible. I know it made me hug Tom a little tighter when I got home. I also know that many of us are thinking that our next visit to Glencoe won't quite feel the same without Sarah there.