Death in the family

I was meaning to share these photos. Now this will be the last chance I'll get.

Go to "proofs" and type "hess" in the password box.

The woman is my sister, Natalie. The man is her late husband, Michael Scott Hess. They were married one month and 4 days ago, and he passed away yesterday morning at 6:15AM MST. I was driving to work and my mother called to say Michael had been in a car accident, where the car he was driving rolled over 2.5 times, and he was in critical condition in hospital in Ogden, UT. Both sides of his brain were swollen, but they couldn't put a shunt in because his lungs were both bruised and he wasn't getting enough oxygen.

I let my mom go, hoping that if he could make it through today, maybe he could get a shunt put in tomorrow-- he'd have some BD but would be alive still.

I called my sister Nichole, since I'd heard that she and her husband Jeff were with Natalie there at the hospital. I asked how Natalie was, Nichole said she was doing well, and I started talking about how Michael could make it if he could last today.

"No, no, Mel," she said. "What?" I said, confused. "He can still make it."

"No, Mel, he died 5 minutes ago. Natalie's in there with him."

And all I could say was "OK" ...

I can't believe it.

What would I do? I've only been married 2.3 months myself! What will she do now? They were perfect together, they were going to have such a great life together-- he was sweet and charming and wonderful for her, and he was going to be a choral conductor when he grew up. They were going to laugh and love and have children, and he had JUST gotten a promotion at work, so he could pay rent all by himself for them.

What will she do?

I'm going nuts here. I'm crocheting a blanket for her, it's all I can think of... I've never crocheted before but hell, it's all I can do.

I tried to find a card at the store and they're all wrong. All of them. This is SO SAD and I find myself willing to give up my own life just to have him back for her.

How could this happen?