TR 7/21-8/10 saddest trip of my life

So sorry for your loss. What a good friend to be there for him in the end like you were and to give him a memorial.

 

What a beautiful tribute to your friend. I am so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing Eric's story with us.

 

Sorry for your loss. I had a sad trip to vegas also, when I had to fly up to pick up my dad's body after he died of a heart attack in Las Vegas so I can understand the pain you experienced.

 

You are a good man. Your story reminds us how fragile all our lives are and that we should embrace, love, and cherish our loved ones every day.

Thank you for sharing your story that is sad and tragic but full of human compassion.

 

My deepest condolences

 

The staff was excellent. Even though I am only a friend, I had full access to him and his medical information. On the day he was being taken off of life support I used the Walgreens app and made a card and gave it to the staff.

 

wow, i'm so sorry for your loss. you are a wonderful friend. RIP

 

I lost my best friend in April '14 to suicide. I always do an april trip, and it happened right after I got back. I planned my 2015 and 2016 trip to be during the anniversary of his death, hoping it would make it easier. Each time on the day of the anniversary, I cried all day while in Vegas. Its OK to cry. I can appreciate how much you loved your best friend, and I mourn with you. I am Erics age, as so was my best friend. I smiled when i saw the tattoo of Eric around your heart, as I can appreciate that too. I hope you received some closure by posting here. You're post has helped me too, as its been 2 1/2 years and I still mourn daily, albeit it has gotten somewhat easier. His memory will creep up on you in the strangest ways. God bless and take care. I can tell you were his best friend.

 

Thanks. I had to see my Dr last Thursday for my foot ulcer (that's why my foot is in a cast) and walking into a hospital, going down the halls and sitting in an exam room that had some of the same equipment that was in erics room. The nurse came in to get vitals and asked why I was crying. I didn't see that one coming.

 

Sorry for your loss, you're the kind of friend everyone would love to have! You're a true friend and a good one. I'm happy to know that i have friends that care about me as much as care for them. You're very inspirational and thank you.

 

My deepest sympathy for your loss. You were a true friend
to him until the end.

 

sorry for your loss man,
he was certainly lucky to have a friend like you.

 

Thanks for sharing your story of "Brotherly Love". RIP Eric.

 

A lot of people like this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Assistance/comments/hax0t/my_friend_just_died_i_dont_know_what_to_do/c1u0rx2?st=isl6ghp3&sh=05003ed5

Alright, here goes. I'm old. What that means is that I've survived (so far) and a lot of people I've known and loved did not. I've lost friends, best friends, acquaintances, co-workers, grandparents, mom, relatives, teachers, mentors, students, neighbors, and a host of other folks. I have no children, and I can't imagine the pain it must be to lose a child. But here's my two cents.


I wish I could say you get used to people dying. I never did. I don't want to. It tears a hole through me whenever somebody I love dies, no matter the circumstances. But I don't want it to "not matter". I don't want it to be something that just passes. My scars are a testament to the love and the relationship that I had for and with that person. And if the scar is deep, so was the love. So be it. Scars are a testament to life. Scars are a testament that I can love deeply and live deeply and be cut, or even gouged, and that I can heal and continue to live and continue to love. And the scar tissue is stronger than the original flesh ever was. Scars are a testament to life. Scars are only ugly to people who can't see.


As for grief, you'll find it comes in waves. When the ship is first wrecked, you're drowning, with wreckage all around you. Everything floating around you reminds you of the beauty and the magnificence of the ship that was, and is no more. And all you can do is float. You find some piece of the wreckage and you hang on for a while. Maybe it's some physical thing. Maybe it's a happy memory or a photograph. Maybe it's a person who is also floating. For a while, all you can do is float. Stay alive.


In the beginning, the waves are 100 feet tall and crash over you without mercy. They come 10 seconds apart and don't even give you time to catch your breath. All you can do is hang on and float. After a while, maybe weeks, maybe months, you'll find the waves are still 100 feet tall, but they come further apart. When they come, they still crash all over you and wipe you out. But in between, you can breathe, you can function. You never know what's going to trigger the grief. It might be a song, a picture, a street intersection, the smell of a cup of coffee. It can be just about anything...and the wave comes crashing. But in between waves, there is life.


Somewhere down the line, and it's different for everybody, you find that the waves are only 80 feet tall. Or 50 feet tall. And while they still come, they come further apart. You can see them coming. An anniversary, a birthday, or Christmas, or landing at O'Hare. You can see it coming, for the most part, and prepare yourself. And when it washes over you, you know that somehow you will, again, come out the other side. Soaking wet, sputtering, still hanging on to some tiny piece of the wreckage, but you'll come out.


Take it from an old guy. The waves never stop coming, and somehow you don't really want them to. But you learn that you'll survive them. And other waves will come. And you'll survive them too. If you're lucky, you'll have lots of scars from lots of loves. And lots of shipwrecks.

 

What a beautiful young man your friend was. He was blessed to have you as his friend. I am a hospital nurse and believe me when I say the personalized card that you made the nurses was the best gift I have ever seen a family/friend give to hospital nurses. Thanks for sharing.

 

I healed enough to get the shading done. As it turns out the artist is going to be featured in a new TLC reality show called healing ink and they will be taping on the 15th so he wants me to come back for some touch ups. He also wants a cleaner picture so he can add it to his portfolio.

 

The artist did a great job imho.

 

My deepest sympathy Ben. You're a great friend and I'm sure Eric was grateful to have you there. This TR and your online memorial are much deeper and loving tributes than any obituary could ever be. More people have been touched by Eric's life and your love for him than a short column in a local paper. I hope that someday you'll be able to go back to those places and celebrate the memory of Eric and your friendship, rather than just feel loss. Again, my heartfelt condolances.

 

I am glad you liked the card. I made the card as a tribute to eric and the staff that cared for him. They were hoping he would pull through too. I still don't know why his sister took him off life support. I gave the staff the card before he died and the staff ordered a "comfort meal cart" for me. I was touched at the thought but I ate very little of it.