In An Instant, Everything Can Change.

(Picture #1, we call "What Happens in Luray, STAYS in Luray." This was about as crazy as things got last February when Wayne, Frieda and I took a vacation to Luray, Virginia. This is how we operate...best friends, relaxed and all is right with the world. Dave Shirk asked that I post this picture, as it does truly represent "contentment." Thanks for the suggestion Dave. WE ARE WITH YOU FRIEDA! WE ARE RIGHT THERE!)
Last night around this time, I was writing the first blog I had composed in nine days.
Tonight, I am writing from a profoundly sad and heartbroken place. Once again, "life" is showing me that nothing stays the same. With each rising and setting of the sun, life as we know it will be different. Sometimes in only small ways, others are, as I said, profound.
My dear and precious friend Frieda Hudson lies in Craven Hospital as I type this, fighting for her life.
I suppose I am in a state of shock, because in this moment, I feel nothing. I can't cry, I can't feel anger, I can't feel anything except a deep and relentless sense of emptiness.
I was on the telephone with Frieda, as we are a lot of the time. We talk all the time about everything and nothing. She had called me to talk about the tarpon tournament this weekend, fishing in it with her brother Sandy, all the food her mom had made for them and how she was going to run into the grocery to buy some nabs. "You can't go fishing without some nabs," she said. So, when she got to the store, she said she'd run in and then call me right back. The next call I got was that she had collapsed just after entering the store.
Frieda has been a solid and intrinsic part of my life basically since the moment we were introduced by Dave Shirk at M&M's Cafe, (a local eatery that Dave and Marsha Shirk made a landmark in Oriental) a few years ago. She never complains about anything. She is one of those people who always has just the right thing to say or knows just what to do in any given situation. She lives, eats and breathes her newspaper, which is The Pamlico News...the weekly news source in our small county.
Frieda and I are like frick and frack. We're like peanut butter and jelly. We're like ice cream and chocolate sauce. We have been joined at the hip for a long time now.
When I've had something to celebrate, Frieda has celebrated louder than I could. When I have cried, she has offered her shoulders, her support and her love. Frieda Hudson is the most staunch, loyal and trusted friend I have ever had. There is nothing I would not do for her.
In learning the ropes about living in a new place, Frieda Hudson has been like a guardian angel, advising Wayne and me, directing us about situations that would not be in our best interest. She has been there to support us and love us with no conditions, no restraints and no boundaries.
I love Frieda Hudson. I love every single thing about her. I love her laugh, how she looks at life, I love her knowledge and I love the total ease in which our relationship revolves. I love her wickedly sharp wit, I love how we "feed" off of each other and all the craziness that ensues when we are on a "comical streak."
It's very seldom that she's not here. We cook, we watch movies, we eat, we talk and when Wayne falls asleep, she and I talk some more. Then when she's not here, Wayne and I take "coffee rides" and go sit on Frieda's "pizer" as she calls it, watching the world go by in Oriental.
Every morning, we have our "coffee talks" over the phone to begin our day. I'm a fan of her radio show. I'm a fan of her column and I am a fan of one of the most fantasic people I have ever been priviledged to know. And typically, Frieda is the last person I speak to each day. We generally have a "wrap up" and close by saying, "Well, talk to ya in the morning!"
Her family has embraced my family and we are all very close. "Mrs. Nancy," her mom, is G'ma to Wayne and me. She welcomes us into her home, her heart and offers us a sense of family. The entire family has embraced us as though we have always been there and there are no words to express how much that means to us. When nothing else in the world is right, Frieda and her family are ready and waiting with a willing hug, a smile and all the love you could ever wish for.
I pray for healing for my precious friend. I pray that God will hold her in His healing hands give her body the strength to fight and to heal.
Everyone who knows Frieda knows she is a fighter. She is staunchly independent and she doesn't give up. I admire all of those qualities so much.
I am asking you to pray, to send energy and to send love to Frieda Hudson in the coming days. She needs our help now. Her family needs prayer and Frieda needs all the energy that we can possibly send to her.
I don't understand how things can go so upside down in a few seconds time.
For all my friends who are Reiki pracitioners, I ask you from my heart to please SEND! SEND! SEND!
I was able to spend quite a bit of time with her in the Critical Care Unit and I was able to give Reiki hands on. She did respond. I will continue to send the remainder of the night and for as long it takes to get through this.
I do believe that prayer changes things and that our energy is to be shared. With those two components, bodies can and do heal. Miracles can and do happen every day and I believe that a miracle can and will happen for Frieda Hudson. I ask that you believe that too. Even though you may not know her, believe in her healing anyway.
I have written about her in my blog, she has been my photographer, she has done graphic work on my CD's and she has been the deepest confidant I have ever had.
I will spend this night praying without ceasing for her. I ask you to join me in prayer for her complete healing and restoration.
One of the closest people in the world to me has had a stroke. Life has dealt a severe blow to Frieda and her family. In my heart, with our help, she can overcome this. With our help, she can win this battle.
On the way home from the hospital, there was a sign posted at the volunteer fire department for our neighborhood. It read:
BE KIND TO OTHERS. EVERYONE IS FIGHTING THEIR OWN BATTLE.
We never know what others are going through and how they might be suffering. What happened to my friend today is a perfect example of that. I will not stop praying that Frieda can and will win this battle and I hope you, my friends, don't mind me asking for your help too.
I love you Frieda. Keep fighing. We're all right beside you.

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