Dealing With Loss

I lost a friend this weekend.  Patty lost her battle with Lupus and died from complications from liver transplant surgery.  I am saddened by her loss and know how hard this must be for her family.
Patty and I met in our last year of college and though I was 20 years older, mature student, and she was a born again Christian while I was a bit  of a heathen, something clicked and we became friends.
When we left Georgia to move to California Patty was supposed to drive our extra car out for us, but instead she met the love of her life, Steve, and they became engaged and then married.
Through the years we stayed in touch, then lost each other and then when we moved back to Georgia she found me again through Facebook and came to visit.
Her husband was a minister and they lived in South Carolina.  Seeing her was great, it was like there had been no missing years between us and through blogging and Facebook we stayed in touch.
Patty's kids were older, the youngest in his last years of high school when they decided to adopt an older child.  It was a lengthy process and part of it involved having a physical. The results of some of her blood work were puzzling and after many more tests it was discovered that she had Lupus, an autoimmune disorder that can attack the body in a variety of ways.
Patty fought it for years, never giving in, but eventually she needed a liver transplant and was put on the list to get one.  Earlier this year her son made the decision that he wanted to be the donor and after much soul searching Patty and Steve agreed and the surgery was performed 3 weeks ago.  There were problems right from the beginning, but it looked like she was winning the battle, her strength and spirit were so strong.  But as her husband wrote on Saturday, prayers are always answered, but not always they way we want them to be.  She died Saturday afternoon with her family at her side.  She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.