LeeAnn Marie Binder

On Sunday morning I received some heartbreaking news that my best friend had passed away.

Her name was LeeAnn, and she had just had her 20th birthday on January 6. She suffered from a lung condition called Bronchiolitis Obliterants, and was in recovery from her 3rd lung transplant in August. The Steelers were her NFL team, and she had a huge crush on Troy Polamalu. Her favorite color was purple. LeeAnn liked listening to Disturbed and Papa Roach. LeeAnn has four siblings; Sabrina, the youngest, battled with the same medical condition as LeeAnn and passed away only weeks after birth. (Her and LeeAnn have a lot of catching up to do!) Shannon, the youngest surviving sibling, is pictured below between me and LeeAnn. Vincent is the second oldest sibling, and the only boy. Stephanie is the oldest.

 LeeAnn and I had known each other since I moved to town in second grade. We acted like dorks together at the middle school dances. She did cheerleading with me in high school. She won homecoming princess and prom queen. We graduated together.

I was so devastated upon hearing of her passing that I wanted to cancel my trip and stay home. Her funeral is on Saturday, and if I left I wouldn't be able to attend. But then I realized that LeeAnn wouldn't want me to miss out on this experience. She was so excited for me the last time I went to visit her in the hospital. We talked and talked about my upcoming trip.

Then it really hit me; LeeAnn is gone. She won't ever get to experience anything else ever again. Now it's up to me. I know that she'll be with me wherever I go, whatever I do. So now I have to live my life for her, too. When I get on that plane and go to England, so will she. When I get married someday, she'll be right there. When I have my first child, she'll be a part of that child too. Because she is a part of me now. I need to honor that, and live my life to the fullest so that she may experience all that she can't on her own. And then someday we'll meet again, and we can talk for eternity about all the adventures we experienced together.