It is with the deepest of regret and sadness that my dearest friend Arlette lost her battle against cancer Tuesday Sept 20,2005 in Methodist Hospital Houston Texas....

several days after her operation she contracted Sepsis and her O2 levels were drastically low so she was taken to ICU... it was a dangerous situation and we all were terribly worried and concerned... having worked in the ER several years ago I knew how life threatening Sepsis was but i still was optimistic that my dear friend could over come this....

I was out of town for the weekend yet had short access to a laptop and checked my mail both friday nite and saturday but there was no news from houston...no news monday either...

around midnight tuesday I checked my mail before going to bed and there was a note from Robert- her dear friend and lover... he bore the news of her passing and i sat stunned and overcome with grief staring at the monitor with disbelief... tears stung my face and my heart felt as if it had been ripped to shreds...

i had little information on exactly what had happened but thankfully Wednesday her dear friend Darlene called and filled in the scanty details... it seems that Saturday "A" had turned the corner and there was talk of her returning to her room..she was in pretty good spirits and looked forward to getting out of ICU...and having the intubation tube removed... Darlene and the doctors were optimistic although somewhat guarded.....

Sunday she had a massive stroke slipping into a coma ...the catscan showing dire results of little brain activity...she never regained consciousness and slipped away from us on tuesday.....

Arlette was such a special person... i first met her when we did a 60 mile Avon Breast Cancer walk from Baltimore to Washington DC together in 2000 after the passing of my mother. We had corresponded through email but i had never really met her even though she lived in Daytona only an hour from me... little did i know at the time this woman would change my life in oh so many ways...

the next year we did another 60 miler from Boca Raton to Miami....a grueling walk in weather that was so hot imy shoes actually burned my toenails off my feet--

A" was a world traveler-- she had been around the world several times-- and called me one day to ask it i wanted to go to china and mongolia-- i jumped at the chance for such an incredible adventure...and an adventure it was...camel riding in the mongolia desert... an unbelievable train ride from china to mongolia--delcious chinese food...a heart warming gift from a mongolian woman...memories too numerous to mention--

it was after this trip to china that arlette decided to move to china and teach english at one of the universities there-- so she packed up and was off on another adventure-- it was here she fell in love - china soothed her soul and the students adored her-- she never looked back and spent the last few years living and teaching and actually attempting to learn the chinese language--

another year another trip- this time to Thailand and Laos-- again an experience of a lifetime and "A" made the trips so very very special-- insisting i see certain things-- planning our days -- trying all the different foods and beers-- taking thai cooking lessons, drifting down the river on a converted rice barge -- we were the only people who had booked and were on the boat alone--- in Loas we stayed way up in the mountains with a hill tribe-- they had never had any "white" people at the village and their hospitality was amazing-- we drank their homemade liquor, ate exotic foods like mouse that was caught in the jungle... ahhh- what a time we had-

"A" opened up the world for me-- showed me what it was to actually LIVE and EXPERIENCE every thing life has to offer-- she was like a sponge soaking up each and every detail... always on the go... ready for the next adventure...there was nothing she couldnt do or nothing she wouldnt try-- she was the most amazing woman i have ever known and with her passing comes an incredible void in my life-- a hole in my heart ... and a sadness that is neverending....