Blue's Reconciliation
“What YOLO gave me was not just a trip. They gave me time. They gave me moments I thought I had lost forever. I was so happy to see my mom in person after 20 years. Because of this trip, I was also able to see my sister Crystal again, and somehow the three of us found our way back to each other in the middle of all this heartbreak.”
Only a few years ago, “Blue,” a woman in her 40s, learned she had an incurable, progressive genetic disorder that would steadily limit her abilities and was likely to be terminal. Determined to live fully, she chose courage over fear and began traveling the world, visiting places she once thought she would never see. As her disease advanced, her travels became more limited and eventually came to an end.
In mid-May, Blue wrote to her hospice social worker with one final wish: to see her mother and sister again—especially her mother, whom she had not seen in person since 2006. As she shared, “there is so much unfinished healing between us.”
The YOLO Foundation was contacted to help make this reunion possible. With time growing short, arrangements were made quickly for her mother and sister to travel to Knoxville. They reunited over Memorial Day weekend. It was bittersweet, but deeply healing for everyone involved.
Afterward, Blue wrote to express her gratitude:
“What YOLO gave me was not just a trip. They gave me time. They gave me moments I thought I had lost forever. I was so happy to see my mom in person after 20 years. Because of this trip, I was also able to see my sister Crystal again, and somehow the three of us found our way back to each other in the middle of all this heartbreak.”
In mid-May, Blue wrote to her hospice social worker with one final wish: to see her mother and sister again—especially her mother, whom she had not seen in person since 2006. As she shared, “there is so much unfinished healing between us.”
The YOLO Foundation was contacted to help make this reunion possible. With time growing short, arrangements were made quickly for her mother and sister to travel to Knoxville. They reunited over Memorial Day weekend. It was bittersweet, but deeply healing for everyone involved.
Afterward, Blue wrote to express her gratitude:
“What YOLO gave me was not just a trip. They gave me time. They gave me moments I thought I had lost forever. I was so happy to see my mom in person after 20 years. Because of this trip, I was also able to see my sister Crystal again, and somehow the three of us found our way back to each other in the middle of all this heartbreak.”
Blue's Thanks
Randy
I’ve been sleeping mostly, but I took a few wakeful moments to write down some thoughts…
What YOLO gave me was not just a trip. They gave me time. They gave me moments I thought I had lost forever.
I was so happy to see my mom in person after 20 years. Because of this trip, I was also able to see my sister Crystal again, and somehow the three of us found our way back to each other in the middle of all this heartbreak.
We spent hours talking about memories. Crystal and I told stories from growing up and from living together in 2018 that mom had never heard before, and mom and I shared memories Crystal had never known. There was laughter between us all again. Real laughter. The kind that catches you off guard after so much pain.
Crystal has only recently come back into mom’s life, and deep in my heart I believe God made that happen. I believe He knew mom would need someone close to me after I’m gone. Before I got sick, Crystal and I dreamed about going on adventures and road trips again together someday. I made both of them promise me they would keep living, keep traveling, and keep making memories together even after I am no longer here physically.
This trip also brought emotional healing, forgiveness, and spiritual healing. Chaplain Jim prayed with us, cried with us, and helped us carry some of the weight none of us could put into words.
The last day was the hardest.
We all knew it would be the last time we would see each other in person. Mom kept turning around crying and saying over and over, “I don’t want to leave you.” Crystal was trying so hard to stay strong for her while also fighting her own tears, gently guiding mom toward the door because neither of them really wanted to walk away.
I felt helpless lying in bed telling my mom, “It’s okay,” when honestly it did not feel okay at all.
After they left, all I could do was sleep. I was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. Even now, I still do not think I have fully processed what this trip meant to me.
But I know this: without YOLO, without Priscilla getting my story to you Randy, none of this healing and none of these final memories would have happened.
I’ve been sleeping mostly, but I took a few wakeful moments to write down some thoughts…
What YOLO gave me was not just a trip. They gave me time. They gave me moments I thought I had lost forever.
I was so happy to see my mom in person after 20 years. Because of this trip, I was also able to see my sister Crystal again, and somehow the three of us found our way back to each other in the middle of all this heartbreak.
We spent hours talking about memories. Crystal and I told stories from growing up and from living together in 2018 that mom had never heard before, and mom and I shared memories Crystal had never known. There was laughter between us all again. Real laughter. The kind that catches you off guard after so much pain.
Crystal has only recently come back into mom’s life, and deep in my heart I believe God made that happen. I believe He knew mom would need someone close to me after I’m gone. Before I got sick, Crystal and I dreamed about going on adventures and road trips again together someday. I made both of them promise me they would keep living, keep traveling, and keep making memories together even after I am no longer here physically.
This trip also brought emotional healing, forgiveness, and spiritual healing. Chaplain Jim prayed with us, cried with us, and helped us carry some of the weight none of us could put into words.
The last day was the hardest.
We all knew it would be the last time we would see each other in person. Mom kept turning around crying and saying over and over, “I don’t want to leave you.” Crystal was trying so hard to stay strong for her while also fighting her own tears, gently guiding mom toward the door because neither of them really wanted to walk away.
I felt helpless lying in bed telling my mom, “It’s okay,” when honestly it did not feel okay at all.
After they left, all I could do was sleep. I was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. Even now, I still do not think I have fully processed what this trip meant to me.
But I know this: without YOLO, without Priscilla getting my story to you Randy, none of this healing and none of these final memories would have happened.
