Rest in Peace, Dori

I’ve just found out that an online friend of mine died a few months ago. I am totally shocked that someone so vibrant and brash as Dori could be gone, even
though I knew how long she’d battled breast cancer. Dori was an ezmod when I was an ezmod. We never met in person, but we talked a lot when she was still
working for ezboard. She left ez because of the cancer.

I am feeling horribly guilty too, since the last time I spoke to her in person was the beginning of this year, and then emails quite a few months ago. The last
few emails I sent were unanswered, and she was no longer on IM. In retrospect, I know now that these months were her last, and that she was fighting a losing
battle for her life. To have not said goodbye, or even told her more often that I was thinking about her is an awful mistake. My life goes by so quickly, and I
didn’t give her many extra thoughts in the last few months. Life is too short to let things slide, and now it’s too late.

Breast cancer has now taken two good friends of mine. The first person that it took was my science teacher, Dr Denise Cole. She went down fighting, and lived a
lot longer than the time they gave her. She became a very vocal spokesperson, and raised awareness all around her. She was an inspiration to everyone, not just
me. She was the best teacher I ever had. She cared the most, and she made the most difference to my life. She came to my wedding in the last months of her
life, with barely any hair, no eyelashes, and very little energy. She still made the effort to come and see me.

And I didn’t get much of a chance to talk with her on the day. She had to leave early as she was too ill to stay. And I regret that too, because I wanted
to tell her how much I cared, and how much she meant to me.

Cancer takes people we love away. Don’t waste time, and don’t let time slip through your fingers. If you want to tell someone how much you care, do it
now.

1 Comment

  • Michelle says:

    Dori was a true one of a kind! Never one to mince words, ever, she was always quick with a witty comeback, the kind you’d think “gee I wish I had
    said that”.
    We’ll miss you Dori.