Yesterday we participated in the Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide prevention for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Myrtle Beach, SC. It was a great success and our team was number one at the time for donations received, but donations are accepted for teams until the end of December.
We had a very good turnout for the team and our walking area was a path on the sidewalks within the unique shopping area called Broadway at the Beach.
There were announcements, and an award given for the best volunteer which went to my niece Lisa Soles who was our team captain. She worked very hard for months on this and is the one that formed our group, ordered T-Shirts and all kinds of things.
We walked and there was a two person band that sang songs and they were wonderful.
I have to admit, I was not prepared for the emotion that hit me full force during the event. I felt it coming on before I got there. Seeing Kaitlyn’s pictures on posters and on the memory board tore my heart in two because she should not be there. There should not even be a need for this type of event, but there is a GREAT need in that it helps prevent suicide and causes awareness. But it hurt like blazes and I felt I was at her funeral all over again, but it was worth it and I will do it again next year and I will continue to be an advocate for suicide prevention for the rest of my life and as I get stronger (if I do) I will do more and more. It hurts, but I will do it. I will do it for Kaitlyn; I will do it for others.
Our group consisted mostly of our family, the ones that were physically able to come and some friends. Also was Kaitlyn’s best friend Neal Timpe who has kept in regular touch with me since Kaitlyn’s death and has visited us and he lives hours away. He’s a source of great strength to me. Kaitlyn had this amazing ability to pick friends that had the most wonderful traits; integrity, honesty, intelligence, depth of character and many other wonderful attributes. He surely fits that category. He is like me in that he finds that by talking about Kaitlyn, it helps him work out his grief and he misses her so much, as we all do.
Below is a picture of our group. (but somehow two of our friends in the group are missing from the picture). I’m the one with the blonde hair and the brown jacket on and my husband is to the left of me. My daughter Stephanie (who is to the right of me) and her husband Steve. Thank you to all of you. All of you are a great source of strength to me. I love you all.
Also I’m including a song that was sung at the event that caused me to really lose my composure. I was not prepared for what it did to my heart.
Also, here is a link to The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: http://www.afsp.org/
My Bright Shining Star 
I’m glad I could make it.
Thanks for saying all those nice things about me. It helps in the moments when I get sad because I didn’t feel like I was good enough to be in Kaitlyn’s life. She was such a wonderful woman. She made me feel honored to be her friend.
LikeLike
Neal, you are a wonderful person and never doubt that. My daughter chose you to be her friend and thankfully you accepted. You meant a great deal to her and I know why since I have met you.
LikeLike
Song undid me then inspired me to maybe use this farm as a place to go for kids who are suffering. I am not sure how to do this yet – probably a lot of ridiculous red tape but thanks for putting this issue out there and being so open with your dreadful suffering – so much love from me to youxxx
LikeLike
Neal (and Rhonda, of course): The song “How to Save a Life” haunted me after I lost my friend Krystle to suicide in 2006. I listened to it many times, and I believed that if I tried hard enough, and “stayed up all night” long enough, maybe I wouldn’t lose my friend Wayne as well. I think I did put that off for awhile – at least, he said that I helped him – but ultimately he also took his own life, and the song is now layered with that sadness for me as well.
Rhonda, although I never knew Kaitlyn, she has become very real to me through your words and photos. Through you, I feel as if I knew her, and I can feel what a huge loss this is to the world, as well as to you.
May our words, our songs, and our walks reach out to help someone else, in memory and in honor of Kaitlyn and all the others we have lost.
LikeLike
Thank you. I feel like your idea for the farm is wonderful. Hold onto that dream and idea and you will make it work, I know you will. There’s so much you could do with that and I hope all the best for your idea. Please keep me updated..
LikeLike
I am sitting on 100 acres of prime land for farming and have had to tap into Anthony’s capital to realign the block so the 50/50-acre division is not directly through our house (must have been done by an eccentric predecessor nearly 100 years ago! I am going to give my idea a good try because, even in this small country town, there is a problem with kid/teenage depression and I have also come to my knees since the car accident that might have killed my son and the others. Big pause for me. Your blog is making a difference Rhonda. Love Julie
LikeLike
Thank you. Good luck to you Julie. I know you can make a difference with this idea.
LikeLike
I hope so.
LikeLike
Thank you so very much. For those of us that knew and loved Kaitlyn, this is a horrible, huge loss. I cannot begin to tell you how special she was though I try. Not to say anyone else that this tragedy befalls is not special, everyone is. I try to keep her memory alive and I want the world to know that this could happen to anyone, no matter if you seem depressed or not to others. Thank you so much for your kind words.
LikeLike
Congratulations on doing such a good work for such an important cause. I know this isn’t work you want to do, but it is something you can do to make a tremendous difference. The idea that suicide is inevitable is so wrong. We absolutely can prevent suicide. But it’s a difficult and complicated work, one that requires whole communities and societies to come together—it’s not something just for parents or counselors.
Thank you for being such an amazing example. I know your daughter is grateful.
LikeLike
Thank you so much for your kind words. You’re right, so much needs to be done and everyone needs to come together to fight this. The trouble is, many of those not affected think it could never happen in their family so they don’t think about it until something horrible happens.
LikeLike
Hi there. I have nominated you for The Versatile Blogger Award. Please visit this link: http://hollowroseheart.wordpress.com/2013/10/28/versatile-blogger/
Congratulations and thank you for inspiring me with your blog!
LikeLike
Thank you.
LikeLike
I nominated you for the Liebster Award, check out my post on my page. I love your writing:)
LikeLike
Thank you.
LikeLike