Yuku free message boards

Message 17 of 117 in Discussion
From: jdinkcmoGOLD Sent: 6/24/2004 9:19 AM

Kelley,

As always, you have taken the time to share Kim's plight with your Freedom family and for that, we thank you. Kim (and you) have been such an inspiration to everyone here, it would be impossible to know how many lives have been saved. Please know that our collective arms and prayers continue to be around you in the loss of "our" beloved Kim. yqs, JD

Judy is GOLD and has been nic free for: 1Y 5M 1W 1D and has NOT smoked 23681 smelly cigs, for a grand $$$ savings of $3,966.65 plus life of Freedom extended by: 2M 3W 5h 25m.

Kelly,

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family today and over the coming days as you grieve the loss of your beloved friend and sister Kim. Like many others here at FREEDOM, Kim taught me that this struggle for freedom is a struggle for life. I am forever grateful for her inspiration. I hope these words offer some comfort:

Now that I am gone,
remember me with smiles and laughter.
And if you need to cry,
cry with your brother or sister
who walks in grief beside you.
And when you need me,
put your arms around anyone
and give to them what you need to give to me.
There are so many who need so much.
I want to leave you something --
something much better than words or sounds.
Look for me in the people I've known
or helped in some special way.
Let me live in your heart
as well as in your mind.
You can love me most
by letting your love reach out to our loved ones,
by embracing them and living in their love.
Love does not die, people do.
So, when all that's left of me is love,
give me away as best you can.

-- Author unknown

When we honestly ask ourselves
which person in our lives means the most to us,
we often find that it is those who,
instead of giving much advice, solutions or cures,
have chosen rather to share our pain
and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand.
The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion,
who can stay with us in an hour of grief or bereavement,
who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing,
and face us with the reality of our powerlessness,
that is a friend who cares.

-- Henri J. M. Nouwen
in Out of Solitude; Three Meditations on the Christian Life

YQS~Mary Kate

Free and very gratefully healing 1 Year, 9 Months, 7 Hours and 26 Minutes, while extending my life expectancy 66 Days and 14 Hours, by avoiding the use of 19179 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $4,923.04.

I am so sorry to hear that you have lost your best friend, Kim. Your sister and yourself have been a huge inspiration to me and I have shown my son and husband your story.

It is a lose that I hope I will not have to go through, and your story is one of the reason that I will never take another puff. Pain in any form is worth avoiding or preventing if there is a way possible, and it is possible to quit a deadly addiction!

Please know that my heart is with you today, xoxoxox.

Georja
107 days

I too am deeply saddened by your loss. Kim truly was an inspiration to lots of people here. The grace, dignity and even the humor she used in dealing with the trials and tribulations she faced from the disease over the past two years served as an example to all who read here. Her work here has touched the lives of many people.

Kelly, over the past 30 years I have encountered dozens of people who faced the same plight that Kim was dealing with. Some, like Kim I met right after the time of their initial diagnosis. Others were people who had quit smoking only to find out within a year or two, or, even as much as five or six years later that they had lung cancer. One thing that always amazed me is what a high percent of these people felt that quitting and staying free was still of great importance even when they come to realize that their battle was almost over. It is no longer an effort to save their own lives but more often an effort to help others they care for from avoiding the same plight. I suspect your quit was important to Kim and that she wanted to set an example to help you as well as all of the people closest to her.

What I have seen very often though is how people who realize the true cost of smoking not only want to share their experience with those closest to them, but also how they want to help people who they meet and if possible, to even help people who they will never meet. We have even seen numerous examples of this phenomena happening with some of our current Freedom members who have spouses who are battling for their lives from smoking induced diseases, and who go out to reach school age groups to help them from ever having to face similar conditions. I know from the many hours of time Kim spent here at Freedom trying to help people that she felt the same sort of commitment to help our many members and our many readers.

I have encountered many people who would come serve as panelists for me in my live programs, sometimes reaching 30 or 40 people at a time, even sometimes one or two hundred people over a few year period. They often felt a real sense of purpose knowing that they likely effected the lives of these people, literally saving them and their families from having to face similar losses. I know from first hand contact with people that their ability to help so many people was a great comfort to them.

Kim did more than just reach a few hundred people though. We know from our www.whyquit.com statistics that she reached over 15,000 people in just the past year in a half. This is not counting people who read her stories just here at Freedom and the numbers she reached in her first few months here with us. She truly has helped to save hundreds if not thousands of lives by her selfless efforts here.

She has served as an example for us all. Not just on how smoking can cause such great devastation, but more importantly on how a smoker, in even the most dire of condition has the full ability to quit smoking and the full ability to sustain a quit forever. This lesson is seldom told and almost never in a more eloquent manner than Kim used with us all here at Freedom. As has been said by others already, she will be sorely missed here at Freedom, but she will never be forgotten.

Even the title of what I think was her first post, "Fortunate to be alive to tell about it," still has its place here. We are all fortunate that she had the extra time alive that she most likely had by quitting and that she utilized that time to help so many people. Many she got to know and there are countless others who she will never get to know, but who will know her. They will likely always remember her too and feel a great degree of love and admiration for her. For Kim's efforts likely helped them to save their health and their lives by showing them that staying free was totally doable once a person firmly commits to never take another puff!

Joel

Message 23 of 117 in Discussion
From: Charlee-GOLD Sent: 6/24/2004 10:30 AM


Kelly - Know that you and yours are in my thoughts and prayers.

Charlee

Message 24 of 117 in Discussion
From: IrishLotus_GOLD Sent: 6/24/2004 10:35 AM


I just realized that today is also the 5 year anniversary of Noni's passing: Meet noni

And here is a link to Kim's story for those who are meeting her here for the first time: Meet kim, a member of freedom

Newbies take heart, like Kim alway said, "I would rather going through withdrawal, than this".

Love and light-

YQS~Mary Kate

Message 25 of 117 in Discussion
From: smurfetteirl Sent: 6/24/2004 10:46 AM


Kelly,
Words cannot express the sadness i felt when i read your post just now. i have never experienced a death in my family, i cannot begin to imagine your grief and loss. Your sister Kim, is an amazing soul, i have always been knocked over by her fun attitude and jokes in the face of some of the most frightening circumstances. You stand beside her equal, you reflect her strength by always being there for her, to post here today shows your inner beauty and a selflessness that i can only wish for, i hold such respect for you, you will never realise.
i remember first finding this site, the pictures i saw of Kim, knowing she was still here to warn us of the damage smoking will do to us, it put the fear into me, i promise her today, i will not smoke again ever. Every effort she made here on this site,to warn us, i respect, i understand,and i will honour her wishes.
I am so sad for you , my heart is melting, i send you all of the love and hugs and support i can feel,please believe these words im writing to you, God Bless you and Kim resting in peace.
lynda

Message 30 of 117 in Discussion
From: Canadiangirlcyndi Sent: 6/24/2004 11:04 AM


Good morning, Kelly.

It is with tremendous sadness that I discovered this post today. Words cannot express how much my heart goes out to you and your family.

Please know just how important Kim's story was to all of us here at Freedom. For myself, it had major impact on my quit, right from the beginning. And it will continue to do so. Your sister was a blessing to this world - that will never be forgotten by anyone.

My thoughts and prayers are with you today.

,
Cyndi


Seven months, two weeks, one day, 9 hours, 4 minutes and 22 seconds. 1598 cigarettes not smoked, saving $879.09. Life saved: 5 days, 13 hours, 10 minutes.

Message 31 of 117 in Discussion
From: BeautifullyBronzeTeresa Sent: 6/24/2004 11:24 AM


Kelly, I offer to you and your family my most sincere condolences... I was so saddened to read your post because, like so many others here, the story of your beautiful sister's battle with cancer was one of the first things that grabbed me about this website - one of the first things that lifted the cloud from my mind and made me realize just how critical this choice to quit is. And I know that now, more than ever, Kim's story will connect with and impact people for a long, long time to come.

We are all sharing in your pain and sense of loss, Kelly...and hopefully knowing just how much it is shared and felt by your family here will help to ease it just a bit from your shoulders. You are both a tremendous source of strength and inspiration to so many - I only hope we can return a bit of that to you now.

God bless....

Teresa

Message 47 of 117 in Discussion
From: John (Gold) Sent: 6/24/2004 4:00 PM


http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_KimsTribute.html

Message 53 of 117 in Discussion
From: Liuchka Sent: 6/24/2004 5:07 PM

Dear Kelly: I am so sorry for your loss. May God grant your family and you his peace and comfort. May you find strength in the memories of happy moments spent with your beloved sister.
I am one of those persons that Kim influenced with her story and posts. Kim is one of the reasons whyquit.com grabbed me. Her photos had an impact in my life, and she will always live in my memory.
Your family and you will be in my prayers. God bless.
Cuca
Free and Healing for Nine Months

Message 55 of 117 in Discussion
From: GoldWolf_jmv Sent: 6/24/2004 6:42 PM

Hello Kelly,

It is with great sorrow that I respond to this posting. I am very sorry to hear such awful news. My condolences and prayers will be with you and your family. Although I never had the honor of meeting Kim here, I can see by all the responses here of what a wonderful person that she is. She has obviously inspired many people. I have to believe that she is sitting up in Heaven right now looking down and smiling. She has been set free of all the pain and is now at peace. She will always be with you and everyone that loved her in your hearts. Her memory is something that can never be forgotten or pass on!!!!

I thank you for sharing this story with us here on the boards. I am sure that Kim would have wanted that. She will be here in spirit inspiring us to stay smoke free for the spirit is immortal.

Jason

Jason - Free and Healing for Three Months, Eight Days, 22 Hours and 57 Minutes, while extending my life expectancy 6 Days and 22 Hours, by avoiding the use of 1999 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $451.66.

Our deepest sympathies, Kelly. Kim was a special person who touched my life and those of so many others.

Therese and Bob

Kelly,
I posted to you earlier , but my sister, Bonnie and the rest of my family asked me to send my deepest sympathy to you as well. They are not members of Freedom, but they quit smoking many years ago. You and Kim have touched so many lives. You may never know how many, but know that there are more prayers being sent to you and your family than you ever thought possible.
God be with you and yours on this very sad day.

sue

correction... their sympathy not my sympathy

Kelly,
My deepest sympathies to you and your family. Just wanted to let you know I one more of the folks Kim inspired.
Jen
Free for 10+ months

Message 77 of 117 in Discussion
From: GreenSolveg Sent: 6/26/2004 1:20 PM

I'm so sorry.
Erica
*in tears*