Emily Marie Benson, a child of many attributes, a child of many talents, a child of God.
When you met Emily, you knew she was somebody special. She had grown into a beautiful, young lady, both inside and out. She had this spark of energy that flowed through her and would always shine in her smile.
She was a risk-taker, always adventurous, looking for the next big roller coaster to plummet on. She was a care-taker, with a heart of gold, always helping her family and loving them with her every being. She was disciplined, earning her Black Belt in Taekwondo and helping to train other students. She was creative, an artist in the making. She was a lover of zoos, especially those hippos.
She had an air of innocence, always a kid at heart. She lived every day to the fullest. She was a child with an illness.
Emily was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the young age of 18 months. It was an illness that she did not allow to take over her life. She didn't like having to fight a constantly changing enemy every day of her life, but she did, and never asked for pity. On days when her enemy seemed invincible, she would call on those who loved her to get her through the difficult times. Emily repeatedly said that she could always count on God, her parents, family, and friends. Emily was a role model, always helping others learn and cope with their diabetes. She even aspired to become a doctor in order to help others and save lives.
When you met Emily, you never met a child with an illness, you met an inspiration.
A Life Longed to See Again By Brena Haughey, age 12
One night can change a person’s life. It sure did change my life when it showed what was truly important to me and how things can change in the blink of an eye.
Emily, my cousin, died in May of 2002. She was fourteen years old and died of cardiac arrest. She had diabetes since she was eighteen months old. She also suffered from Addisons Disease and a thyroid problem. You could never tell she was sick; but she was. When you looked at her, it was as if you were looking at someone special, a person who could change a life and save another. She did just that. She changed hundreds of lives and saved three lives by donating both her kidneys and her liver. While she was on this earth, she was a bright and radiant light for Jesus. Then she died. I think she was glowing even more.
She had gone to New York for a doctor appointment. Emily and her mom stayed at the Ritz-Carlton. Her heart stopped about eight hours before her appointment with the specialist. A man at the Ritz-Carlton did CPR on her for an hour. We heard about this at 5:45 in the morning. We rushed to pack while we waited for my daddy to get home. We tried to get tickets to fly out to New York, but we decide that driving would be quicker. The whole time we were driving to New York, I was praying and holding a cross and picture of Emily on my heart. I thought that she was still alive and was going to come back, but I soon found out I was wrong.
We finally arrived at the hospital and she was in ICU. I still remember seeing her there, lying helpless on her death bed. I didn’t realize at the time, but her chest was only going up and down because it was being moved by a machine. When I touched her I knew she was gone and never coming back. I also realized that things could change in the blink of an eye, and we never know when that blink is going to be, but we do know that we need to be prepared when it happens.
I have put my life in perspective now, and I strive to do what is right. I want to be caught in the rapture while I am pleasing God doing his work. The other thing I learned from Emily was that you should never take for granted the things we have. We should also live life to the fullest. Who knows, you might be living the last five minutes of your life, and I know I don’t want my last five minutes to be wasted on something bad.
