Greetings,
My story is short and sweet. Everything about this story is too short and at times bittersweet. On July 9, 2011, I married the most beautiful woman in the world to me-Heather Everts.
One of the most stunning features of this woman were her deep, green eyes. When we would be eating at a restaurant, complete strangers would approach the table just to compliment her yes. They were indeed, that stunning!
The only thing that was more impressive about my Heather was her heart. She was always giving of herself to those less fortunate. I joked that she must be some angel sent to Earth. In retrospect, I think that is exactly what she was.
February 21, 2012. Nearing the 7-month mark of our newlywed year, my sweetness, and my beautiful wife died suddenly of a stealth disease known as lymphocytic myocarditis. Seven months of bliss ended in a matter of minutes. She was only 34 years old.
Yet, even in death, my Heather kept giving. Even in death her eyes lived on. Heather and I are (were) both organ donors. Her corneas that supported those beautiful green eyes were transplanted in to someone who had never seen the color green in their life. Even after her heart stopped beating, it kept on giving.
As the one-year mark of her death approaches this week, I felt the need to pay tribute to my angel one, more time. I miss her presence in my life more than I can express. Life without her is more gray, more muted, and more somber. Yet even in grief, I am proud to say that I knew her, loved her and married her. People as selfless as Heather Everts-Grover do not often come into a person’s life. As much as I grieve her loss, I am thankful that we were together, and I know that over two dozen people are now thankful that she was an organ donor. Someone now sees through her eyes. It must be beautiful.