April was only 12 when she died. She had been my best friend ever since we were in preschool. She had a tumor in her brain, and it had been developing her whole life. That was what had killed her little brother also. She had really missed him when he died. She would always ask God why he took her little brother. At least she gets to be with him in Heaven now.
We would always dance to the Hanson videos, since they were our favorite band. We had both always had the dream to meet them someday. They were so talented and fascinating. They were the sunshine in her life, and who kept her going each day.
One day, when we were outside, looking at our Hanson pictures, April just collapsed. I had no idea what to do. Her parents weren’t home, so I just dialed 911. Before I had even got outside to help her, the ambulance had gotten there. I was worried as I wondered if I would ever get to see her again.
After she had been in the hospital for about an hour, the doctors let me go in to see her. She told me that she was going to die, and there wasn’t anything that anybody could do. I told her that she would make it through all of this, and that I would stay by her side the whole time, and not leave her. I made a promise not intended to break.
Her parents had been preparing themselves for that day for a long time. They knew it was going to happen very soon. They had cried themselves to sleep every night since she was a baby. They even knew about her sickness before she was born.
After she had been in the hospital for about a week, the doctors said that she could go home. I thought that she was all better, and would be able to run around with me all day. But when we got her house, she couldn’t even stand up. She had to lay in her bed all day, but I was there the whole time.
I was there every day after school to stay by her. There were some days that I was so depressed that I wouldn’t even go to school. I would just stand by her side. The kids at our school made cards for her, and I read them to her.
Before dinner one night, my mom told me about some company called the ‘Make A Wish Foundation’. She explained to me that you could send in a person’s name and a wish on it. It was only for the people that wouldn’t get to live a full life, so they could and do what they had always wanted. I told her that it was a great idea.
Without even mentioning anything to April, I sent in a paper for her that said that she would want to meet Hanson before she would die.
As each day went by, she got weaker and weaker, and you could see that sickness just ate her alive. I suffered with her, as she cried and cried because of her pain. There were some days where I thought that she would feel better if she died. She wouldn’t have to be in so much hurt.
Less than a week after I mailed that company, I got a response. It was from Hanson. They told me that they would be glad to come see April, to try to make her feel better.
Without even saying anything to April, I arranged everything with Hanson.
There were days when she didn’t even wake up, but the day that Isaac, Taylor, and Zac came was very different from the others. When she woke up with them all standing around her bed, she smiled as she began to cry. She hugged me tightly, but as time went by, that hug got looser and looser. When I looked down at her, to ask her if she would want to do anything with them, her heart stopped, as mine began to race. I knew what had just happened, but didn’t want to face the reality.
All of our teachers and friends were at her funeral. Everyone was crying, including me. The preacher explained to everyone there that she was a great young girl, and that even though she was in bad health, there was always a smile on her face. Hanson was a speaker at her funeral, and I’m sure that she was looking down on us from Heaven.
Even though April’s body isn’t with us today, her spirit will always be watching out for us. She was a great friend, and I’m glad I got to spend as much time with her as I did.
