It’s difficult to put into words what Elizabeth meant to me.

I don’t know where to begin, and I feel like it’s hard to make it known how much she changed my life.

I met Elizabeth about seven years ago in a Facebook group, and we clicked instantly over our shared chronic pain.

She quickly became one of the most important people in my life. Over the last decade, we spoke nearly every day.

She was my friend, my safe place, and my guiding light through some of my hardest years.

I was extremely young, in my very early 20’s, and very lost in life.

Elizabeth essentially raised me to be the woman I am today.

She taught me true strength, resilience, and offered me sincere friendship and love.

Every conversation I had with her made me a better person.

I cannot imagine what my life would have been like had I not met her.

She was always positive, so I became more positive.

She was always kind, so I became more kind.

She was always filled with love, so I followed in her footsteps and became more loving.

She was truly beautiful and it radiated.

She was a safe space, and gave me some of the most thoughtful, sincere advice.

I always knew where things were headed, and towards the end, we frequently shared how much we loved each other.

She sent me a gift so I would always have something that helped me think of her.

I look at it often, and feel at peace knowing she is free.

Through her last few days, she texted me asking me to “hold her paw” — her way of saying hold her hand — and I knew in her words that things were coming to an end.

I reminded her that her life had meaning, and that she tried her very best.

Even though me and Elizabeth had over a twenty-year age gap, she was one of the people that understood me the most.

Still, even with these words, they do not feel like enough.

She was one of the best friends I have ever had, and every day I ache knowing I’ll never get to talk to her again.

I have so much I want to tell her, and often catch myself needing her advice, because NO ONE gave better advice.

She was wise, brave beyond comprehension, and a guiding light for anyone that needed it.

I needed it, and she changed me.

I am me because I knew her.

I will carry her memory with me for the rest of my life.

Elizabeth, it fills me with peace knowing you will never feel pain again.

I will carry her memory with me for the rest of my life and tell her story to everyone I meet.

You were always a story worth telling.

My heart goes out to her family.

It’s a big loss, but she earned her wings.