Dear Rachel Whidden

Dear Rachel,

It took me several days to be able to sit down and write this letter to you. I knew everything and nothing I wanted to say all at the same time. You were the first CF friend I ever reached out to. We had such similar, yet drastically different lives. We were both crazy teens who were full of life, had sisters who would do anything for us, and shared an intense love of Harry Potter. We definitely grew up in different ways and had different life experiences. I believe that this is what made our friendship so successful; we complimented each other in such a wonderful way.

I remember the day I first added you on Facebook. It was shortly after my childhood CF friend passed away; I was lost and had nowhere to turn for support and advice. I joined a couple of Facebook groups that I really did not enjoy. It was hard for me to find the right friends, especially over the internet. People that you just click with, you know? Right before I left those Facebook groups I had originally joined, I had randomly clicked on your profile. I immediately saw a bunch of Harry Potter posts and became interested. It was a very nerve-wrecking first step in my life, but I added you. It was the first time I had ever added someone I didn’t know on Facebook, the first time I had ever tried to make another CF friend, and the first time I had even used Facebook in a long time. I messaged you because I thought you would think I was a weirdo for just adding you out of the blue. Then nothing…

I thought I was a fool, but then eventually forgot about you. Months later, I messaged you about something that for the life of me can’t remember what it was about. You messaged me back immediately apologizing profusely for forgetting to message me back so many months ago. I thought it was hilarious. It made me realize that you were just as human (and terrible at texting) as I am. From then on we spoke extremely often. Our friendship blossomed quickly.

I had been casually blogging for a short while. Just dabbling in what it was like to sort some stuff out with my life. Before I knew it, you had started your own blog. To my surprise, it was because of me! You were not shy about that fact. It made me feel very special. I would not be where I am today without your support. I still laugh about how excited you were when I asked you to write a guest post on my blog. I will forever be thankful for the love and support you have shown me.

However, we were not only friends in the internet world. We decided to take our friendship to the next step and meet in person. Something that is a rare occurrence for people with Cystic Fibrosis due to risk of infection between CF patients. We arranged to go to a baseball game, which would be outdoors, and had seats in separate rows, so that we were sitting at least 6 feet apart. You were definitely much more lax when it came to these rules. You were so excited to meet me that you rushed up and hugged me when you first saw me. While I was pretty uncomfortable with the situation, it’s not very often that CFers get to share that sort of affection for each other. Luckily, you didn’t try to hug me again. Haha.

The rest of our friendship was spent with text messages, phone calls, Skype sessions, and more. We would talk about everything from our health to our dogs. My favorite trait that we shared was our passion. Our passion for CF awareness, social causes, and anything else we could delve into. We would always support and cheer each other on. Don’t worry, I will continue to fight for the both of us. I hope that in my lifetime I am able to touch as many hearts as you were able to in yours.

As much as I miss you and wish that you were still here, I am so thankful that you led a fulfilling life that you were proud of. I’m proud of all the work you did for CF awareness, transplant awareness, and so much more. I really hope that your friends and family can get your project for Aleppo finished. I know how much you cared for those people. I am thankful that you had an amazing family that loved you and gave you such joy. I am thankful that you and your moo were able to find each other. I am thankful that you were able to see the Cubs win the world series. Most of all, I am thankful that you were able to find it in yourself to have such a big heart while battling such a cruel disease.

I will love you always. Breathe easy.

Sincerely,
Wendy Caroline