Black Canary

My very dear friend Lara passed away on Wednesday January 4, 2011 at approximately 11:30pm. She died while having open heart surgery to repair her aorta which had torn. Her aorta was weak as a consequence of having Marfan Syndrome. She had open heart surgery once before in 1993 which had been a success. It took her 6 months to recover, but she did it!

I remember the first time I saw Lara. It was in 1999, just after I had started working at a software company in Mississauaga. My life had gone into a tailspin, which resulted in me picking up and moving to Milton, and getting a job through a friend who worked at that company.

Part of my duties were to cover reception. And one day, Lara was walking by. She was tall, like really TALL. I know tall women, but Lara was the tallest woman I'd ever met. Little did I know her height is a characteristic of Marfan Syndrome.

She came up to the reception desk and introduced herself. I thought, "Wow, what a nice person!"  I can't remember how it came to be, but what I know is from the moment we met, we were FRIENDS.

There are many wonderful times she and I shared over the last 12 years. We've gone to concerts, baseball games, bowling nights, lunches, dinners, and each other's wedding.

There aren't enough words in all the languages on earth to describe how much she means to me. So I will just close this post off with a picture of the two of us, taken on the happiest day of her life.

Lara, I will love you forever. I know you are in heaven because you were a true angel on earth. I will see you again one day.