Sending support & love.

May 6, 2013 -
6 comments, add yours

Good morning everyone, I hope you’re enjoying your Monday. For those who don’t know, this weekend was the Pittsburgh Marathon. With the marathon, there is an expo all weekend where I worked with my BN Shape boys. Friday & Saturday were amazing days filled with lots of laughs, networking, fun times, & just enjoying myself with those around me. Today I was going to originally post about the weekend with a recap of the events. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always go as planned & this weekend is an example of that.

I didn’t feel right posting a recap of the weekend without first posting about & sending my condolences to a family that needs it today. Unfortunately a child hood friend of mine tragically collapsed & passed away while running the half marathon yesterday. My thoughts & prayers are with everyone who was affected by this.

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The marathon started off as it always does on race day. For the past 3 years my mom & I have gone down town to support all of our friends who are running. We stand at the same starbucks & hand the same iced coffee off to my best friend Sarah as she runs by.

Yesterday wasn’t any different. We got there on time to make the coffee hand off. I went back in to get myself an iced coffee & when I returned outside, my mom went inside to grab a tea. As I stood outside by myself, I was amazed at the amount of runners that I recognized; it’s a total inspiration for sure. I made sure to cheer for every person that I knew.

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I remember taking a picture of the street & then looking down at my phone, followed by looking up & noticing a childhood friend of mine, Kyle, running on the opposite side of the road. I didn’t know that he was into running so I was surprised to see him. I cheered him on but because he has headphones in, he didn’t hear me.

My mom came out and I told her that I saw him running & she was surprised because she didn’t know that he was doing the half marathon. Kyle’s mom is one of my mom’s best friends so we’ve been friends since we were little.

My mom & I hung out for a little while longer & then headed to the finish line to watch. We saw Sarah cross the finish & then met up with her afterwards just like we have done for the last few years. After congratulating everyone, my mom & I decided to walk to grab some lunch.

The weather was beautiful yesterday so we were enjoying the walking. My mom even suggested that we buy tickets to the baseball game since it was so nice out but I was so tired from a long weekend that I suggested that we head home to relax after lunch.

We sat down to lunch & ordered our drinks. My mom pulled out her cell phone & realized she had voicemails from a few friends.  My mom’s face completely changed when she heard the news that Kyle, who I had just seen a few hours before this run by, had tragically collapsed & passed away during the half marathon.

As you can imagine, whenever you get news like this, you almost feel like you’re in a movie & that it’s not really happening. It’s unbelievable how our emotions can go from so high to so low in that matter of hours. We canceled our orders & came home to spend the day with our loved ones & provide support for everyone involved. 

I didn’t feel right just posting a new post today about my weekend without first sharing my condolences towards Kyle’s family, friends, & everyone affected in this tragedy. Although he & I didn’t talk as much as we used to while growing up, we still had a connection to this day.

Kyle was such a funny guy & I remember always picking on each other when we were younger. We grew up at neighboring schools & had many mutual friends. He had a bright future ahead of him & was surrounded by loving friends & family.

After getting home & it all sinking in, I found myself looking back on the day. With this happening, it made me realize just to enjoy every moment that we are given. I promised myself that the next time my mom wants to randomly grab baseball tickets & enjoy the weather, I’ll do it. Even if I’m tired, a nap can wait.

Events like this really remind us to live every single moment to the fullest because we never know when our last moment is.

Life doesn’t always make sense and sometimes it can be really frustrating when we don’t understand why. We can at least learn a lesson to live our lives to the fullest and not focus on the small things because in the scheme of things, the time & effort we spend worrying is just wasting time that we could have spent happy instead.

Today I just want to say that I am sending all of my love & support to Kyle’s family, friends, & anyone who was affected by this.

 

Rest in peace Kyle – you will be missed.

Red heart Kasey

 

Category: Blog

6 responses to “Sending support & love.”

  1. Lauren Marks says:

    So sorry to hear this Kasey, my thoughts and prayers go out to Kyle and his family.

  2. Kasey, I am so sorry to hear this. I can’t imagine what you are feeling, or his family. I have absolutely no idea how he died at this point, but it breaks my heart knowing anyone collapsed. Aaron has a heart condition that he luckily found out about, or he could’ve died from too much excursion. I am praying for the family to heal as best they can <3

  3. Lisa says:

    Oh goodness, so sad to hear about the passing. Thinking of you, the family, and everyone in his life… thoughts and positive prayers to his family <3

  4. linda says:

    I am so sorry Kasey. This is a horrible and devastating story. If its not in bad taste, have you found out why it happened? The reason I ask is because I am 47 years old and have been running for about 5 years. I wear a HR monitor and sometimes I am really up there. I have always been one of those who thinks “its not going to happen to me” but the more and more I hear of this type of thing, I think that it actually CAN happen. No one thinks its going to happen to them.
    Anyway, just wondering if he had an underlying condition and of course, if its too personal, I certainly take no offense if you do not reply.

  5. HUGE HUGS!!! So sorry!!!!!

  6. Wow, that’s crazy. I’m so sorry for your loss. <3

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