R&D Powell Posts: Celebration Of A Wonderful Life

Last tuesday and wednesday we had the viewing and funeral of Astra. Her viewing was like none other i had ever been too before. We lined up for almost two hours to pay our respects. Im guessing there most have been close to two thousand people that came that evening. There was videos going on in the couple of rooms we had to stand in line in of her life and pictures everywhere. What touched me was seeing the flowered heart in blue that said A Minerette Forever, the flowers from the missionary she was waiting for and her oxgyen tank that we never saw her without still standing next to her pretty pink coffin. On the day of the funeral we got there early but didnt need too as they had reserved seating for the minerette families. That also was attended by over 700 people i was told. We were lucky to be seated up the front in the more comfortable chairs. What suprised me the most was that they really didnt have a lot of family, just the parents, there grown kids and her younger brother, two grandmas and that was pretty much it. But like i said the number of people there was amazing. I think when we all go we would like to think we had made a different in the life of others. Well you could have talked to everyone of the hundreds of people that were there and all would have had a story to tell you of how much Astra had touched there lifes. She may only have been here for 20 years but the amount of people at the viewing and service more then told the story of how she had lived her life. The service was beauitful, tho i think ivd never get the imgine of sweet Jamie walking behind her daughters coffin trying so hard not to cry but her sobs traveling all around the chapel. Our hearts all ached so much for her. So many wonderful speakers, her bishop, her father, her younger brother who also has CF, her doctors, her sister and Morgan the minerette coach (now teaches the byu drill team). There were five years of minerettes and there families there all supporting this wonderful family and five years of minerettes stood on the stand and sang together a church song for her. What a wonderful sight seeing them support her like that. At the gravesite afterwards it was mainly doctors, close friends and minerette family. There had been hundreds of pink balloons at the viewing and we stood in two lines opp each other at the entrance with our pink balloons while the familys and Astras cars drove in beween us. Her mother Jamie spoke at the gravesite and so did a few others and then we let off all the pink balloons. It was quite a sight to see. Then the tear jerker for me was when all the minerettes that was there and there was a lot from the past five years all stood around her coffin and did there minerette chant that they were so famous for. For those of you that have heard it or seen videos of it here on my blog when Lucy won state you will know we called it there war cry, lol. Very loud and shouting. This time it was very quite and most of the girls were saying it in tears. It made everyone watching it have some tears. That was the most heartbreaking moment for me. Some facts i learnt from that day was that for every breath we take, Astra had to take seven to nine breaths to get the same effect. Her sister had her baby a month early, her due date was in fact on the day that Astra passed away. There so has to be a reason she had that baby early. I learnt how loved she was, how sick she had been the past 18 months and how brave she was right to the end. I had only spoken to her a couple of times in the past 18 months since lucy finished drill, the three times i can remember is when her missionary went, she told she everyone said she wouldnt wait, but she would. I told her i knew she would, she was the strongest person i knew. (and yes she was still waiting for him, he would have been home early next year) Then a year ago she contacted me when she saw a status i put on facebook about my friends son passing away of Cf, her word were very sweet and she sent a very sweet msg to his family though me. The three weeks before she passed away i congrated her on being an auntie to Erins baby boy. (her sister is one of the minerette coaches). My point is that she never let on to me how sick she was, she was always postive and i never knew she was having such a hard time. She was the strongest person ive ever met. I remember her breaking her foot during nationals in florida, she kept dancing and didnt fall to the ground screaming till after she crossed the line from judging. I have it on video and you see when her foot goes. I remember at state in 2009, she fell to the ground the same way after leaving the floor after miltary routine, blue in the face. Her team mates carried her to the dressing room and gave her oygen and it took forever for the blue to leave her face. Her stuggles were just amazing to see. Lucy with asthma thought she had it bad until she met Astra and lucys career choices were made because of Astra. She wants to spend her life helping children and adults with Cf. Yes she has certainly made a different in so many of our lifes. Her postive outlook, her motto of No Regrets and Live Each Day To The Fullest will never be forgotton by all of us. She was so loved and her time here so short but as her father said. She put 60 years into her 20. Her family are the most amazing family i have ever met. You cant know them without loving them. God really choose wise when he picked them for her family for her short time on earth. Anyway it was a hard week and very hard seeing so many minerettes in tears over there very loved team mate. It was nice seeing all the girls again and there parents and it reminded me that the minerette family has very strong ties. They will always come together when needed to support one of us. They were such a support to me with my mom that year and here we all were again doing what needed to be done to help celebrate such a wonderful young ladies life.