Melita Ramic

As some of you may know, my friend Melita passed away late last year. This June she would have been 23 years old. I met Melita when I was a junior at Fox High School. We both had Geometry together. We also went to Jeffco for a year together, then she moved onto UMSL. We used to ride together whenever I had class at the Hillsboro campus.

After high school, we promised each other that we'd stay in touch...if at least by email. We both had a Myspace and shared emails even after we were done seeing each other at school. I remember reading an email from her one day that really caught me off guard. Believe it or not, I was snacking on some of the pink Breast Cancer Awareness M&M's, when I read her email, telling me that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. At age 20. She told me not to feel sorry for her and not to cry. She told me that she'd beat this, no matter what. Nothing but optimism.

The summer after she was diagnosed, she got a team together to walk for the Race for the Cure in St. Louis. That year, her team name was "Many Reasons, One Goal." I walked with her, her parents, and some of her friends and family. I didn't know any of them. I was introduced to a girl named Betsy, which was one of her really close friends. The next year, her team name was "Shut Up and Fight." I did not participate in this walk. At this point, we had started to lose touch. I just kept up on Facebook from time to time.

I remember the last time I spoke to her, was wishing her happy birthday on her Facebook page this past June. And that was it. I thought of her often, but did not find out how she was doing...which I deeply regret now. My mom had asked me a week prior to finding out about her death, how she was doing. I told her that I wasn't sure because I hadn't talked to her in a while. I went to her Facebook page later that day (or maybe the next day, I don't remember for sure) with the intention of writing her...when I started reading everyone's comments about how much they loved and missed her. Immediately, I started crying and went to call my mom. I had no idea she had died.

The only person I knew that Melita also knew was that girl Betsy. I looked her up on Facebook and wrote her. I had only met her once and we barely even talked, but I had no other way of finding out what had happened. Jason and I spent over an hour looking online trying to find a news story or an obituary or something. We didn't have any luck. Betsy wrote me back. She said that Melita had withrew herself from so many people in the last few months. She said that the cancer had spread to her shoulder and knees, which caused Melita to be in the hospital for a few days in August. At that time, they started her on a new chemo treatment. A week before her death, the doctors told her that she was dying, and Melita looked at the doctor in the eye and said, "You're full of shit." That's the kind of person she was. She didn't let having breast cancer bring her down.

Betsy filled me in on several details and offered to talk to me anytime I needed someone to talk to. I miss her so much. She was such a beautiful person and an inspiration to me. She was going to college to be a teacher, but when she found out she had cancer, she changed her mind and was going to med school to be an oncologist. I have known about her death for a few months now, but it still doesn't seem real. I think about her almost every day. The next time I'm in MO, I plan to visit her grave and put some pink flowers down. I hope that everyone who is reading this will say a prayer for her family. Melita's family is Bosnian. She has a younger sister. I only met her parents and sister once. After the race a few years ago, they took all of us out to a Bosnian restaurant in downtown St. Louis. There are so many great memories that I have of Melita. Whether it be from school or the race or just times that we were out doing things together...so many good memories. I thank God that she isn't in pain any longer, but I sure do miss her.

I encourage all of you to remember how fragile life is. Be thankful for your health. Keep in touch with your family and friends. You never know when something can happen. You don't want to live with the regret of "I should have..."

I love you all and God Bless.

-Cole-

Our Wedding 10/17/2009

Hey everyone! I know I haven't written in a few months. I'm going to try and write more. I wanted to do a recap of our wedding, since that is the latest BIG thing that has happened to our family.

Jason and I had originally been planning a wedding for Spring of this year, either in March or April. Somewhere within the first day or two of October, we decided we didn't want to wait that long. Having our kids at the wedding was top priority and we had one weekend in particular that we were guaranteed to get the kids...so we went with that weekend...Saturday, October 17th. All three sets of parents were very supportive and quick to help us. We thank you all very much. Within as few as 17 days of planning, we were married and had a wedding that we were both very happy with.

I am still a bit amazed that we all managed to pull off a wedding in 17 days. For those that were able to attend, I hope you enjoyed it. We got several comments that it was a beautiful wedding. Thank you to everyone that made the trip up here to see the small town we live in and see us on our special day. It meant a lot to have you sharing that experience with us.

Many of the weddings I have been to in the past were a bit on the extravagant side. The wedding ceremony with a ton of people, big receptions in a hall with a DJ and catered food. In a lot of ways, that's how I thought my wedding would be like when I was growing up. Jason reminded me that regardless of what kind of wedding you have, the main purpose is getting married to the person that you're so deeply in love with. So in the end, we decided to concentrate more on the marriage itself rather than all of the unnecessary hoopla that comes with it. The wedding march that you all heard (if you were there, of course) he found online....minutes before the wedding!!! It wasn't the usual wedding march...it had a twist. The song we used to play as we were walking back down the aisle was "Then" by Brad Paisley.

Jason's uncle Kevin was our photographer....he did a great job! I am very happy with the shots he got. My mom's friend Ann made my beautiful bouquet. She also HAND MADE a bride and groom wedding bears. The bride's bouquet matched mine! Jason's mom made our cake. His grandma made Jasmine's dress. Mom and dad helped with the food, decorating the night before, and transporting family. My Uncle Dennis and Aunt Belinda helped Kevin take photos and record. My Uncle Ray also helped video tape. So many of our family helped us out. THANK YOU!!! :)

One of these days, I'll get all of the pictures printed and make my scrapbook! I already have the scrapbook and some things to get me started. I just haven't printed all of the pictures or really had the time to make the book yet. I want to take my time on it.

-Nicole-

Here are a few quick edits I just did...


















Any photo you can't see very well...just click on it and it will make it larger for you to see. :)