Sudden Death

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read this blog if you have not finished Despicable Lies.

In my novel, Despicable Lies, when Jason Gardner, a young man in his late twenties, dies in a fiery airplane crash – the lives of those who loved him the most are forever changed. His mother, Ginger and his father, Lloyd are devastated. His lover, Edward is brokenhearted and his ex fiancée, Darcy is shattered. They all react in different ways to his sudden and tragic death. The way they felt at the time sadly reminds me today of the family and friends of Kobe Bryant and the others who died in that helicopter crash into the mountain…their shock and disbelief, their fury and anger at God for allowing this to happen, and their indescribable heartache of those left behind.

As with the Koby Bryant tragedy, sudden death can touch any of us. When I got a call from the Maryland State Police at 1:00 am in the morning I was told that my fifteen-year-old daughter, Kathy, had been in a terrible motorcycle accident and had been taken to the hospital. The officer refused to tell me if my child was dead or alive. He only said to come right away. The drive to get to my daughter was excruciating. I kept envisioning all kinds of scenarios, one more dreadful than the next. When I arrived at the hospital my father and step mother were waiting for me in the parking lot. I could tell from their facial expressions that the news was not good.

Kathy had been treated and taken to the Intensive Care Unit and was attached to multiple devices and a ventilator that breathed for her. The doctors explained that she had suffered terrible internal injuries and was “brain dead.” They needed my permission to remove her from life support and potentially to donate her organs for transplant to another patient. That was a decision no parent should ever have to face, and one that after much prayer and discussion with my family, I was forced to make.

The novel is purely a work of fiction; but I like to think that there’s a little of me in both Darcy and Danielle. I hope as you become familiar with the two twins and become engaged in their lives, you will learn a little about me too.

Until my next Inspiration…ciao