I had not realized the depth of Shahdis kindness, selflessness, and compassion until Laurens cancer returned for the third time. We didnt know her when she had her first battle with cancer at the age of 3 but Shahdi was involved in a fundraising for her while the second battle was undergoing in 4th grade. By the time the third and final round started in 8th grade, Shahdi and Lauren were already best friends. Shahdi became very protective of Lauren and did her best to keep Laurens spirits up. Like the rest of us, she was hopeful that Lauren would be triumphant once more and they would continue their friendship into high-school. Sadly, the battle was lost and Shahdi was left devastated for the rest of her short life. I remember she told me once how upset she was with many of Laurens friends who had abandoned her as soon as they found out that her cancer had returned and her prognosis was not good. She was very angry that some people had turned their backs on Lauren in order to protect themselves from grief later on. Their rejection of Lauren made Shahdi even more determined to spend as much time as possible with her best friend. Unfortunately, the final struggle did not last more than a month and we were all shocked and filled with tremendous sorrow when we learned of Laurens passing on an early December morning. Regrettably, Shahdi never fully recovered from this loss. Every year from a month or so before the anniversary of Laurens death, she would get into a sad mood. Shahdi passed away 12 days before that date. I still wonder why she could not get over this loss and leave it in the past. It was as if she somehow felt responsible for Laurens death and not being able to help her friend. At the time, we had no idea of the profound impact that this loss would have on our daughter. One thing is for certain though, had Shahdi lived, she would have acted exactly the same if faced with a similar situation. Shahdi was a loyal devoted friend - the kind that is hard to find in this world. Had she lived, she would have been a friend for life for many lucky individuals. Alas….. Love you my darling child...
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 01:42:31 +0000