Good news and Bad news

Last week was a hard week in many ways. I spent a lot of time worrying about my friend Lesa, and her upcoming surgery to remove a brain tumor last Thursday. So far, the news is really good for Lesa. They were able to remove almost all of the tumor and her neurological tests have been positive. I know she's in for a long haul, but I am happy for her and her family that all has gone so well.

The same day as Lesa's surgery, Peter and I found out that a good friend of ours from BYU, and even earlier, Pete's mission companion, had his younger brother die very unexpectedly. He was only 35 years old, very healthy, a young father of 3 with a baby on the way. His wife woke up to a snoring sound and tried to rouse him unsuccessfully, and later, paramedics could do nothing for him. His death is explained as Sudden Cardiac Arrest. He had a healthy heart upon autopsy, so it was just a freak thing. So very sad! Our friend Jared and his brother Justin were close in age and the best of friends, two of the funniest guys I've ever met. I am heart broken for Jared, his family, and especially Justin's wife and kids. Its crazy how you can wake up one night and have your entire life changed in a few short moments. A tragic reminder that we never know what will happen in life, so we need to make the best of life and enjoy it.

The good news is that Jake had a great, fun weekend in Twin Falls playing in a basketball tournament. His team won the championships, and though he didn't get as much playing time as on his old team, he had a great experience. There was another boy on the team whose father was one of Pete's college roommates (along with our friend Jared) and it was so great reconnecting with him. I lived across the hall from Pete at BYU, so we share a lot of past friendships and memories, which is nice. The whole family tagged along to support Jake. It was a great way to end a tough week.