This weekend was our Pacific Masters Championships. It was a close battle between WCM and USF and I don't know who won at this very moment. I don't care.
You see, I left right before the 1000 today (the last event) right after the last relays. I watched some great swims today. Amazing swims. My friend Brendon swam a 2:03 200 fly and really hit his taper (as he's not going to Nationals)- we were teasing about how he does really well the week after a tapered meet. He seemed to finally figure it out this time.
My friend Stephen called me tonight and told me that Brendon also had a great 1000, was warming down, had a heart attack and died. He was 35. I was stunned. I've been crying since then trying to make sense of it all. It doesn't make sense.
I called some other friends and no one else can believe it either. Suddenly, the meet doesn't matter, swimming doesn't matter, what matters is that we lost a really great guy today. He was always so happy, funny, and loved to tell jokes. He was really good natured and fun to be around. I will miss him terribly.
Parents
Former Member
I remember the grieving process vividly when my college roommate/fraternity brother died. I know where you are and how it feels. The world around you doesn't seem "real". I even went through a stage of guilt for a time, as in, "if he hadn't come to the lake party we had, he wouldn't have died". It gets better each day, even though it doesn't seem like it ever will. A close friend's untimely death will be with you for the rest of your life. I still think of John to this day, 15 years later; and I'll never forget him. Months after it happened, I looked back on it and my behavior was textbook depression. Keep talking about it, surround yourself with friends and family, and trudge through it. You will make it. Perhaps in the wake of his death, some great good can come of it like others have suggested, whether in the form of a charity event or some individual introspection leading to a healthier state of mind. That he lived at all obviously made you, and others that knew him, better people.
I remember the grieving process vividly when my college roommate/fraternity brother died. I know where you are and how it feels. The world around you doesn't seem "real". I even went through a stage of guilt for a time, as in, "if he hadn't come to the lake party we had, he wouldn't have died". It gets better each day, even though it doesn't seem like it ever will. A close friend's untimely death will be with you for the rest of your life. I still think of John to this day, 15 years later; and I'll never forget him. Months after it happened, I looked back on it and my behavior was textbook depression. Keep talking about it, surround yourself with friends and family, and trudge through it. You will make it. Perhaps in the wake of his death, some great good can come of it like others have suggested, whether in the form of a charity event or some individual introspection leading to a healthier state of mind. That he lived at all obviously made you, and others that knew him, better people.
