<p>May I just add that I love the choice of screen names and the beautiful picture that comes to mind: Sunriseast shining over Sailingwest as he continues on his own journey…</p>
<p>Sailing west,. Please whisper to your Mom that she was here…she will never be forgotten. Many of us have been made better because she was. Her story, her courage, her beautiful words will stay with us forever. Please thank her for us. Godspeed Sunrise.</p>
<p>Wow I only read half of the first page before I realized this was from 2010. I skipped to the end to read the last bit, and was quite saddened to hear this.</p>
<p>I’m not a very emotional person, but this has me on the edge of tears. I am very sorry for your family, and will pray for you.</p>
<p>Sailingwest, I’m so sorry. I cannot find words to express my feelings right now after reading your post. Even though I never met Sunrise IRL, I feel like I’m about to lose a good friend. You mother is an amazing person, and she will always be in many, many hearts that she touched with her eloquent and inspirational posts.</p>
<p>Sailingwest, so sorry to hear the sad news. My prayers go to your mom and family.</p>
<p>I have a close friend who is going through similar situation. I hope miracles happen.</p>
<p>Sailing west (and family) -
You are in my thoughts and prayers.</p>
<p>Sailing West - we all feel cheated to not have her for longer, and I’m sure you feel it more intensely. I don’t think I’ve met a more remarkable woman, even though I only knew her here.</p>
<p>I hope someday you print these messages out and read them all. </p>
<p>I know your mom wanted you and your brother to love and laugh and follow your passion. It is okay to feel deep grief, relief, anger and any other emotion. In time your memories will make you smile, not just weep.</p>
<p>She was an amazing woman who touched many more lives than you probably realize.</p>
<p>She will be missed. Go out there and live a full life, hang tight onto your brother and father and know there are so many out there grieving with you and cheering you on from the sidelines. </p>
<p>All my love to your family.</p>
<p>Sailingwest, my very deepest sympathy to your family. I can only imagine what a void your mom’s passing will leave. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that she seems calm and at peace now, nor that she is displaying eloquence and dignity until the end. Her legacy will live on with so many of us. I am pleased to have had the chance to know her and learn from her over the years here. Best wishes to you all.</p>
<p>Sailingwest…my heart sank when I read your post. I’ve been reading your mother’s “story” from day 1 and it hit home when my husband was diagnosed with cancer last January. Unfortunately he passed away just 2 months later in March. I hoped so much that your mother was one of the ones who could beat this awful disease. God knows… she gave it her all. I believe my son goes to the same school as you in Chicago and I just want to let you know that he’s thriving. Of course, he misses his dad very much but he says that he’s honoring his father every day by doing what his dad wanted him to do and lives his life with the motto that " i am thankful for the 20 years I had with my dad, not what I don’t have now. I know your mother felt the same way about you and your brother and she was at peace that you are on the right path to becoming wonderful young men. If you ever would like to speak to my son who certainly can relate to your loss, please pm me. My best to you, your brother and your father. Obviously, I never met your mom, but I feel like I lost a friend. I was so inspired by her words.</p>
<p>Sailingwest, I don’t know if you’ll ever make it through reading all of this tread, so I wanted to let you know that your mom posted a letter your dad wrote about her. It’s on page 93 of this tread, and here’s an excerpt. I wish you and your brother and father peace.</p>
<p>There is another bright side to the sad prospect of H’s premature departure. Her condition was a catalyst for wonderful changes in our lives. I’d trade those in a heartbeat for the chance to grow old together, but this is not our choice to make. We don’t choose the events in our lives, we only choose the manner in which we respond to them. And if H were to die before me, it gives me a great opportunity to find peace and joy in the knowledge that I can be there for her, that I have an extraordinary opportunity to express my love to her. I know I can be there for her all the way. I’m not scared. I can be her soul mate as she goes through the emotional turmoil of facing one’s own death, of saying goodbye to loved ones. I can be there physically holding her hand, caressing her body, lovingly gazing in her eyes. I will be sad when the time comes to for the last goodbye, but I’ll be there. And I’ll organize for her the best ‘last goodbye’ experience that I can. If it comes to pass, I want to be there and help her let go of us To make it possible for her to leave us without feeling she failed us. I know how happy it will make her to feel. My hope is that the last voice that she hears will be mine, telling her how much I loved her and what a wonderful gift it was to have her as my life partner, as the love of my life.</p>
<p>I am married to an amazing person. And if I end up outliving her, and I still hope that this would not happen, the sadness of my loss will be balanced with a deep realization of how lucky I was to have her in my life. I was lucky to have met her and wise to recognize her virtue. Meeting her has profoundly changed the trajectory of my life.</p>
<p>We sat down for lunch at Lox Stock and Bagels – a student joint in Champaign Illinois. We talked for hours on end, six or seven hours. Before too long, H was telling me how much she would like to see the full colors of my parachute. That she would like to see me spread my wings and soar.</p>
<p>Oh, oh, my inner voice got startled. That’s alarming - there is a danger of commitment here. Nah, don’t worry! I’m going to go back to Israel in a couple of months. This is just a summer fling, and she knows it.</p>
<p>Well, she did get to see the full colors of my parachute, she did get to see me spread my wings and soar, but not as an observer. She was a participant, an enabler, she helped me make it happen. H challenged me to soar and convinced me that I could do that. She showed me the courage of the eagle, a bird who dares go higher and higher, and I rose to her challenge. I feel that the two of us are soaring in heights that few people get to explore. We see the world with clarity and calm. And if her time comes, and she is no longer able to fly with me, I will do this for both of us. I will soar above our children and grandchildren for as long as I can, and share with them the view from above, the world according to H. Through me, and through my boys, her courage, wisdom and generosity of heart will continue to inspire all who feel affinity with her. All those who appreciate her legacy.</p>
<p>Sailing West,</p>
<p>There are no words to describe my sorrow upon reading your post. Your mother touched all of our lives in such a profound way. Her generosity of spirit , her deep love for you, your brother and father and her incredible strength and hope in the face of adversity are the parts of her that will live on in all of us here. </p>
<p>May you be lifted up by the collective love we all have for your amazing mother. </p>
<p>FLY HIGH SUNRISE… i will look for you soaring above us all.</p>
<p>Sailing West,</p>
<p>Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know. Your mother was so generous of spirit and we have all been enriched by reading her posts on her journey.She had a long struggle that she fought bravely with passion and dignity. We will keep her and your family in our hearts. I am so touched by your family’s generosity of spirit. Your mom is a very special person and you and your brother and your father will hold her in your hearts forever.</p>
<p>SailingWest,
Thank you so much for posting. I have followed this thread from your mother’s first post–she was extraordinary–and loved you and your brother and father so much. Words fail.</p>
<p>Sailing West,</p>
<p>I am terribly sorry that there won’t be a cure for your mom. I rarely post, but always checked in on this thread whenever I visited collegeconfidential. Your mother is an eloquent, insightful writer and a kind, beautiful and gentle soul. She had an incredible, strong spirit and her positive attitude is something I am trying to embrace more in my own life. I hold your mom, you and your family in my heart and in my prayers.</p>
<p>Sailingwest, I was so sorry to read your sad, although not unexpected news. I hope you can see from this thread how many people she touched so deeply.</p>
<p>Does anyone want to participate in a vigil like we did for LatetoSchool? Shall we pick a time where we can send our love and support to Sunrise, simultaneously as a group? It will be both support for her in her final days and farewell from all of us. I suggest tomorrow Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 10 p.m. EST. Is anyone else in? Let us all meet here, or wherever we may be, to send good thoughts to Sunrise and her family…</p>
<p>Wonderful idea, tango. It will help, to feel less alone in this time of loss. I will be here.</p>
<p>I am in. 10:00 pm tomorrow EST. Prayers being said all along as well…</p>
<p>Sailing West, with a sad and grateful heart I’ve read your update. Many blessings, peace and comfort to your mom and entire family. Your mom’s powerful and generous spirit will live on in countless ways. I’ve no talent for words but searched for a poem that spoke to me of your mom.</p>
<p>Beyond the East the sunrise, beyond the West the sea,
And East and West the wanderlust that will not let me be;
It works in me like madness, dear, to bid me say good-by!
For the seas call and the stars call, and oh, the call of the sky!</p>
<p>I know not where the white road runs, nor what the blue hills are,
But man can have the sun for friend, and for his guide a star;
And there’s no end of voyaging when once the voice is heard,
For the river calls and the road calls, and oh, the call of a bird!</p>
<p>Yonder the long horizon lies, and there by night and day
The old ships draw to home again, the young ships sail away;
And come I may, but go I must, and if men ask you why,
You may put the blame on the stars and the sun and the white road and the sky!</p>
<p>― Gerald Gould</p>
<p>I’m in, too…</p>
<p>SailingWest:</p>
<p>Thank you for taking the time to post to this community. As you can see, your mom has inspired so many of us with her courage, and commitment to her family. Words fail at times like these. </p>
<p>Please know that so many have been touched by her and we have all been blessed by her, in so many ways</p>