My doctor tells me to stop thinking about time. I know what he means, but I always feel the same when a new school year begins. A sense of hope, a rush of disbelief that I made it through another summer. And running parallel, the knowledge that none of this means I am protected from what’s to come. I imagine that at the end of even the oldest person’s life, part of them must think that it went so quickly. As if their very existence had once been infinite, and suddenly it all seems like it must have been a dream.
- Sarah Coglianese
November 4, 2019
To our friends, family and everyone in the Speed4Sarah community,
Scarlett’s grown two and a half inches at least. She’s almost as tall as Nonnie, and soon will be inching up on Liz, and then the race to her dad really begins. Other than that, she’s the same kind, funny, dangerously whip-smart, brave little girl, chock full of courage and curiosity and that one-of-a-kind moxie. In the face of incredible sadness, she has shown the rest of us how to be strong and how to carry on.
It’s hard to imagine it’s been a year since we said goodbye to Sarah. The truth is it doesn’t feel like something that happened but something that we just are now. Every single day, there she is, in the wide-eyed little wonder she gave to us. And in each and every one of us who has benefitted from Sarah’s inimitable joy, laughter, guidance, and love, there is now a quiet storm of beauty.
It’s a constant feeling — one that often erupts and rushes through us in an instant — a funny line from one of the kids, or an article that we want to share, or a phone call half-dialed. If we’re being honest, this hasn’t gotten any less painful. Every single day there is another moment we process that now is a new kind of time. A time of change, without our daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend. A time without our Sarah.
Sarah’s annual #WhatWouldYouGive campaign asked participants to give up an ability for one day to better understand what it’s like to live with ALS.
Today, on Sarah’s birthday and near the one-year anniversary of her passing, we are asking not what you would give but #WhatSheGave to you. Share with your loved ones and friends and help us carry on Sarah’s messages of hope and empathy.
Hope that others will not have to endure a similar fate. And empathy for those who will.
With Sarah’s commitment to finding a cure, we’ve also linked to a dedicated fundraising page at ALS TDI, the world’s first and largest nonprofit biotech focused 100 percent on ALS research.
As the leaves cascade around us and we transition from one year to another, we can’t help but acknowledge the hardest part of life: accepting the extraordinary light and beauty we’ve lost.
And yet, Autumn is also the season we give thanks. Know that we are thankful for what we had and what we still have, and for all of you.
All our love,
Sarah’s Family
#WhatWouldYouGive
#WhatSheGave