Eva Markvoort - 65 Red Roses

It has been a year now since Eva Markvoort lost her life to Cystic Fibrosis. In the days that followed I wanted to write a post, but I found it difficult to write about Eva because of the profound effect it had on me, especially in a time when thousands of others were feeling much like I was. An overwhelming grief and loss had touched so many lives and I couldn't focus on what it was that I wanted to write after reading so many other comments and posts. My words and feelings had somehow blended with everyone else's, and so I chose not to write anything. I wrote for myself and how I was feeling.

During this time, my illness had me looking at my own mortality. Because of this I found myself reading many blogs and becoming fast friends with some wonderful people. Sadly, this online network also made it possible to see the rapid deterioration of some of these people I had made friends with, and over time I found myself reading their blogs written by family members announcing their loved ones were in the hospital and their days were ending.

The first time this happened I cried for days. It was a friend of mine who had passed away from breast cancer only two weeks before Eva. Both of these women had touched my heart in many ways because of the remarkable outlook they had in dealing with their illness. The strength they carried was phenomenally bright in such a dark time. I was moved that they could both reach out and offer hope and give wonderful advice to so many people during a time when they were faced with so much of their own.

The thing about Eva was her desire to educate people about cystic fibrosis and promote organ donation. It was in a sense a passion that drove her, along with her deep love for her family, friends and network community. Eva's legacy continues today. In the last year, fund-raising projects have raised over $200,000 in her behalf toward cystic fibrosis and donation awareness.

I think of this young lady quite often and still read the updates that her family post on her Livejournal blog: 65RedRoses.
Over a year ago Eva brought great inspiration to me. As I struggled with the thoughts of my own mortality, Eva's advocacy for donor awareness helped me understand more about my own disease. I also realized that family and friends and love and God meant more to me than I knew. When you see things slipping away you start to understand the things you sometimes take for granted. It could be the simple act of saying, "I love you," in the morning when you say goodbye to your wife or husband on their way to work, or your children as they go off to school. It may be a "Thank you," to a friend or coworker or stranger.

Eva's post helped me understand how amazing people can become when faced with life-altering events. Thank you for this, Eva, for teaching me to see how much life could have stolen from me if I wasn't looking.

MARKVOORT, Eva Dien Brine

March 31, 1984 - March 27, 2010