Life is short; friends are precious. This week our small community mourns the passing of a friend, Lisa Carole Pearce Arey, 44, who went to be with the Lord following a nearly ten-month battle with complications from cancer and West Nile Virus (pictured in the middle between my daughter Elena [on the left] and her friend Christy [on the right]).
My relationship with Lisa channeled through my children, both of whom spent many hours seated in desks in her classroom and under her direction on the stage. Several things about Lisa stood out to me:
- Lisa was brave. Nearly all the other forty-something women in our town rush to Bernie’s as the first sliver of gray peeks through our parts, but Lisa went gray gracefully. I remember the day I bent to pick up something and my son Val (before he grew 7 inches in a year and became tall enough to see the top of my head) yelled, "Mom! Your hair!" My first instinct was to grasp the top of my head, but memories of a last summer’s yellow jacket incident halted my hand. "What about my hair?" "It’s SILVER!" I explained to him the facts of life: My haircolor is fake. He then asked, "You mean, if you didn’t color it, it would ALL be silver? Like Mrs. Arey’s?" Yes, Like Mrs. Arey’s. Very brave move, Lisa!
- Lisa was practical. Our high school offers Drama I, II, and III. There is no Drama IV. After completing years one and two of Drama, Val enrolled in Drama III during his junior year (school year 2005-2006). I remember talking with Lisa shortly after school started. She explained that my son was attempting every conceivable method to convince her to allow him into Drama class again during his senior year. She explained that this would require her to write a complete curriculum, which wasn’t necessary as everything he needed to know about Drama had been covered in the three-year course. So she announced there would be no Drama IV. Not even for Val. Very practical. (Note: Due to Lisa’s sudden illness shortly after last school year began, Drama III was converted into a study hall and Val is taking it this year–his senior year.)
- Lisa was fun, but firm. The kids loved her. Although I’ve seen her face redden and her eyes bulge during play rehearsals, Lisa allowed the thespians a little more familiarity than say, a math teacher would allow her students, letting them call her "Larry" — a nickname for "L"isa "Arey". However, she NEVER allowed the students to call her by her first name. It just wasn’t proper.
- Lisa was trusted. Moments after Elena’s first experience with blue lights in the rear view mirror, who did she tell? Lisa!
- Lisa had great faith. My last conversation with Lisa occurred a few weeks before the West Nile Virus attacked her immune-weakened body like a lightening strike. She looked forward to her final chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. The treatments had made her violently ill, and she longed to get on with her life and her teaching. She told me, "I don’t fell as though I have cancer; but that I had cancer." She had believed God had healed her. And she was right. A body scan last spring revealed she was cancer-free. Although Lisa wasn’t able to communicate vocally during her last months on earth, her family held firm to her faith, surrounding her with a constant prayer vigil though her church and community.
- Lisa never gave up. I remember the day the virus struck her brain stem. Lisa’s temp shot up over 105 and soon the word reached her friends–she was not expected to live through the day. Yet she fought for nearly 10 months. A minuscule amount of people stricken with West Nile Virus even become symptomatic. Out of those few, even fewer require hospitalization. But, for those with weakened immune systems, the virus can be, and, for Lisa, was, deadly. However, even through the painful respiratory and physical therapy, Lisa fought every day to improve, struggled to do more, longed to return home. When she became aware of her surroundings, she was able to respond through head nods, shrugs, and smiles. In the end, a blood clot took her earthly life, but those of us who knew her can still see her smile.
A scholarship fund will soon be formed in Lisa’s name. Details will be posted once they become available.
