I’m not sure what to write. My sister, Allison Leigh Stewart, was my best friend. I never knew life without her until 9 years ago. She was and still is one of my favorite people. She was funny in an understated way. She loved her family and friends and had quite the imagination. She wrote quite a few stories which I was the only one privileged to read. She was loyal, more loyal than most people. She also wasn’t afraid to tell you how she really felt even if it hurt. I still miss her every single day. She had the best smile… She was taken so quickly. She was painfully shy and insecure in a lot of ways. She seemed like she didn’t fit in… Something we both struggled with… But right before she got sick, she went on the adventure of a lifetime…. BY HERSELF… She went on a vacation trip to Australia. She had an amazing time. She was brave, much braver than me. When she came back she wasn’t recovering from the jet lag and it’s then we discovered she was dying. The doctors did not give her or us any hope. That was the hardest part. If we had even a sliver of hope or something we could try, it may have been easier to bear. They gave her 2 to 6 months. She died after 1 month. The melanoma had created a tumor in her brain. It has been 9 years and it is still very hard to write this and think of how she suffered. I get so angry sometimes. I just want her back. I want her to know my children. I have hope to see her again. Sometimes I dream about her. I would be bereft to leave out that she was a huge fan of: the METS, the 49ers, Bon Jovi, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings. She loved the Lord. She was faithful to Him in her own way. The morning she died, I left the house. I couldn’t cope. My nephew was there with me by the creek near her house. It was cold but I didn’t pay any attention. We were talking, trying to make sense out of it. All of a sudden a warm wind came blowing by out of nowhere. It was such a shock that I stopped talking mid sentence and asked my nephew “did you feel that?” and he said “yeah what was that?” Then a flock of birds flew overhead and at the same time we saw the hearse drive by in the same direction. I felt such peace… unexplainable peace. I felt like everything was okay. That Ally was OK. Almost like (I know this sounds crazy) that warm wind and birds were a sign from Ally and from God. I don’t know. I long to feel that way again. I don’t know if anyone will read this but if you do, I hope it helps in some way. I feel like I was all over the place with this Tribute.
“For I the Lord your God hold your right hand. I am the LORD who says to you ‘Fear not, I will help you.'”