A Shocking Death

I was surprised to learn about a car accident early last week that involved a relative in my family. I became shocked to learn that she had died. Her name was Vicky and was a second-cousin to me. We weren't all that close, but I remember her from the visits she made with her family during my town's Homecoming celebration each August. It was the one time of the year that I would see them, as they never visited any other time. She was married but had no children. But she is an individual I will never forget, and this blog will be a remembrance to her life.

I don't remember much about our visits anymore, but I remember her being a very friendly and outgoing person to talk to. She would discuss just about anything. One coversation I remember was quite vivid to me. Her father had just died less than a year or so (him being my great uncle, in fact), and she asked my dad what it was like to experience his father's death (since his dad/my grandpa passed away years earlier). Obviously it was still painful for her and it was kind of odd for me to hear my dad discuss the death of his father, because I could never recall him discussing his feelings about it. Because of this, it's one of those memories I will never forget.

She had already experienced a freak accident earlier in her life. I can't remember the exact details of the accident, but the car that she and her husband owned would not start. Unfortunately they tried using gas in the engine compartment and it exploded in Vicky's face. She had second and third degree burns on her face and was scarred for the rest of her life. She was lucky it wasn't as serious as it was and she wasn't seriously disfigured as you would think. But there were noticable scars on her face. Whenever my dad and I would visit her and the rest of her family, they'd always offer us candy, cookies, you name it. They were a family that liked to smoke and drink, so it was not uncommon to see them at the local bar drunk out of their minds. But they were fun people and liked to have a good time. You can't blame them for that. Just so long as they didn't get behind the wheel in that condition.

It had been at least three or four years since I had last seen them during Homecoming. Apparently they haven't even attended the town's celebration the past couple of years because of a family dispute. I think that's a shame, considering it was the only time they'd come to the U.P. during the year. And now Vicky won't ever be able to enjoy a U.P. summer's day again.

As I said earlier, Vicky was involved in a serious car accident sometime earlier this month and spent some time in the hospital recovering. She had experienced severe bruising in her brain, yet the hospital felt it was safe for her to recover at home. However, when her husband left and came back later, she was gone. I do not know the details as to why she died at home, but more than likely it was because of the injury to her brain. Either the swelling worsened or she experienced a sudden stroke due to the extent of her accident. I can't speculate because I don't know what really happened. But it's such a sad ending to such a vibrant person.

Needless to say, our time together was rather short, but Vicky is a person I will never forget. You hear about these kinds of accidents everyday. But when it involves a family member, it's even sadder to find out how vulnerable we all are.