Wendi's journey has ended

This is Brian with an update on Wendi. Tonight I am reporting something I had hoped I would never have to — Wendi has lost her battle with cancer. She fought it very bravely and admirably; we were always very proud of how she handled herself throughout her terrible ordeal. She died peacefully on Saturday, October 10. We observed her death at 7:00 p.m., but the Operation Supervisor pronounced the official time of death at 7:42 p.m. (That's not because our observation was wrong; it's just because the Operation Supervisor didn't come into the room until around 7:40 p.m.)

Wendi died peacefully, surrounded by family — her parents, me, my mother, my brother and his girlfriend, as well as my sister and her baby son. We all told her how much we loved her and how much she meant to us as she took her last few breaths. It was very calm and peaceful. Many more friends and family members came to visit her in the few days before she passed away; we wanted to let them know how much we appreciated them coming to see her. I'm sure she appreciated the visits in her own way, even if she couldn't respond.

In particular, we wanted to thank Wendi's cousin, Cindy, for suggesting that we sleep beside her in her hospital bed. I spent most of the last two days and nights next to her in the hospital bed; she seemed calmer when I was holding her. I was very happy to see both of her parents lying next to her in the hospital bed throughout the last two days. It was a great way to let Wendi know, without ever saying a word, how much she meant to us, so thank you for that, Cindy.

Obviously, there are some arrangements that need to be made, as well as some other things that need to be written here. That will happen when the right time comes, but right now everyone is too overwhelmed with grief to do very much in that regard. We will post updates here about Wendi and the memorial arrangements over the next few days. We are all devastated; we had hoped for the best for Wendi. We never expected to lose her so soon. My beautiful, intelligent, caring, and funny wife has gone home to be with God. I like to think that God thought heaven needed more of a sense of humor. For that, I can't imagine a better fit for the job than Wendi.

More updates soon...