Friday, February 11, 2011

A Teal Friend- Courtney 1982-2011

Earlier this morning I learned that my friend Courtney Clifford had lost her battle with ovarian cancer. I knew Court was in hospice and had received updates through our mutual friend Crissy. But you know what - it still hurts. Badly.

Now my thoughts are a jumble as a remember snippets of a short but wonderful friendship.


Both Court and I attended the first LiveSTRONG Survivors Summit in Austin , Texas in 2006. Even before the event an LAF message board allowed us to reach out to other survivors with the same diagnosis. So I actually corresponded with Court even before we meet in person in October. We were both diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer and had surgery in 2005. Mine in July and hers in November. We both had made an ER visit due to pain on the left side of our abdomen which lead to our diagnosis. We both had had thyroid issues earlier in our lives.

We really hit it off- even with the big age difference. She was the same age as my daughter and son- in law. After the Summit we stayed in touch through e-mail and Facebook. I learned she loved college football - like I do. She was a Cincinnati and The Ohio State Fan- how she loved her Buck-eye necklace. While I am a Rutgers and VT Fan - more about that later. She loved to travel- me too. So I would send her post cards from places I visited. I was so thrilled when she told me she was traveling to Australia. That would be my dream vacation too. I loved the photo she put up of her and a Koala bear. I wish I could have been there with her.



Then in 2008 I learned that they were holding another LiveSTRONG Summit in of all places Ohio- Court's home state. I couldn't wait to meet up with her again. I flew off to Columbus with my nephew Kevin. I'm glad he got a chance to meet Court too. What fun we had! I remember the trip to the zoo where I was lucky to meet her Mom, Mary and see her green van decorated for the event by our friends. Then of course there was her chance meeting with Lance in the coffee shop. The photo of the two of them is precious. Our get-together after the leader's meeting was great too. She would always tell me the it is not Ohio State but rather THE Ohio State. I couldn't wait to tell her when we walked over to THE Ohio State football stadium and actually got inside.

Court was one of the first people to call me when I recurred in Oct 2008. She told me about her trip to MD Andersen and her Avastin treatment. In January of 2009 our football rivalry began again when VT played Cincinnati in the Orange bowl game. I was so glad she could be there with her family. We even texted after the game. (I still have them on my phone.)

There were a few e-mails back and forth in 2009 and early 2010. I was so happy when she got to throw out the first ball at minor league baseball game in September - Ovarian Cancer awareness month. These last few months I've send cards, postcards and posted to her Facebook page. And I prayed. I wish that I could have gone and given her a hug in person and see her smile.

Thank you Courtney for being my friend.

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing! Courtney was a blessing.

3 comments:

Pandora said...

A very nice blog posting honoring Courtney. Again, let me thank you for introducing me to her at the 2008 Summit. I still wish we had a picture of the three Ovarian Cancer gals together. I still feel very lucky and fortunate to have met you and Courtney. The loss of Courtney is very sad. Just another reminder of how much I hate cancer and ovarian cancer.

I often think about the fun we had walking over to THE Ohio State Stadium and the thrill of getting to go inside! Such great memories!!!

Much love to you!
Karen

Rachel said...

I'm so sorry to read this. You captured Courtney's spirit so well that I feel like I knew her too. This is an unkind and infair disease but I am thankful for women like you who are wiling to put their stories out there. Thank you for your courage.

Servivorgirl said...

Wow, Courtney was such a dear sweet friend and I am so sorry for your loss. So young, so young. It's not fair for any of us to have this dreadful illness, but what can we do? All we can do is all we can do.

I will say a prayer for you and her family. God Bless.