Just a little over a year ago on Sunday morning, February 20th, 2011 my younger brother Joshua was involved in a fatal car accident with a passenger in tow who also was severely injured.The driver of the other vehicle did not survive. The passenger that was in my brothers car (his friend) is Jason Mcdonald. Jason died this last Sunday Morning, March 4th, 2012 at 3:15 A.M in another drunken fatal car accident that claimed his life this time around. Jason Left behind two kids at the young age of 20 years old. There were a total of four young men in the car that night and now has claimed the life of another young man who was clinging to life so desperately at the age of 18 years old and was the cousin of our dear family friend. The other young man is laying near deaths edge in a Seattle hospital currently and trying to cling to life. The driver of the vehicle was released from the hospital and is now facing two counts of vehicular homicide while under the influence with a count of vehicular assault while under the influence.
Just a short year ago, I was and still am the sister who is holding the hand of her little brother who made a horrible decision to drink and drive. Though he is in prison currently, I see a lot of changes in my brother for the good of his life. My brother has a heart of gold and many will refuse to ever see him that way. He was the driver of the green car and the black car belonged to the young woman passed away upon impact. The young woman was found to be intoxicated the night that she also lost her life. The roads where we come from in the winter are unforgiving with ice packed on them and makes it nearly impossible to stop at any rate. With video evidence of a nearby facility capturing every second of the accident, we were able to see that both my brother and the young woman were not able to stop with a seconds notice of each other in view.The young woman was coming from an intersection that had a stop sign, in video we seen that she was not able to come to a full or complete stop and actually rolled through the stop sign there fore my brothers car struck her car immediately. A t-bone collision. My brother walked away with a broken femur, hip and pelvis on his right side where he was trying so desperately to press into his breaks so hard that he was nearly standing on the break pedal to avoid this young woman but the ice and other factors hindered his ability to avoid her. Though both my brother and the young woman's blood alcohol content was EXACTLY the same amount at .11, just three points past the legal limit, they all ultimately paid a very high price for their decisions.
As the months went by, I did all I could to help my brother physically and emotionally, though I was a wreck on the inside. I picked up my camera often to document these things because I just knew one day my brother was going to be able to make a difference in this world using his testimony and my documentation to illustrate the example of his life and the choice he made that night. Soon, my brother was ordered into custody to face the charges against him. When this happened, I felt like the mother who also lost her son even though he is just my brother. All I had once I knew I could not see him in person was the pictures I took. To this day, those pictures mean so much to me knowing that I still have my little brother here alive and well despite his current living situation. They also will render the memory of him when he has children to share them with. Unfortunately, Jason who just passed away, will only have pictures to be had by his two children. Pictures are pictures and sometimes they are not the prettiest ones but they are worth keeping. So take pictures often and love them more than words can describe.
My point here is that life is so precious and it is a gift but it is something that can also be taken away just like that. Pictures are so important to treasure. These are often all a person has left once someone passes away. Pictures are meant to be treasured and loved and cherished for all the years to come and I certainly hope that many will see the true value in having these memories created for the very reasons of enjoying them on your walls or having them around when someone close to you is no longer a part of this world. Im so glad that I took pictures of this tragic time not to remember the bad but to remember the blessing of the lives that we have in OUR own lives and that each day is a gift and a blessing. God works in so many mysterious ways that we can never understand, but I love that about God, he knows exactly what, when, where and how without me ever having to do all of that myself. If there is someone out there that you love and you have not told them so lately, tell them today and everyday there after! it is simple. You never know what life has around the next corner and it can be the last time that you ever hear from or see or speak to that person.
Value all that you have and all of those around you. Love often, forgive often and laugh often because it is a short life but it is a sweet life. God Bless those who have lost their loved ones Sunday morning and those to whom have lost a loved one due to drinking and driving. Life is so precious.
xo,
Vanessa
As you can see, these pictures aren't the best I have taken but they still mean so much. It is heart wrenching but I hope that people will understand how precious memories and life really are.
rss
pinterest
facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment