Saturday, January 9, 2010

In Memory of Trina

Kind. Courageous. Honest. Strong. Sweet. Funny. Real.

Those are words that describe Trina Gonzalez.
To her family and friends, reading about Trina in the past tense is impossible to do. Our sweet Trina lost her battle with cancer, but her spirit and light will live on through all of her family and friends. Trina has touched so many. Many of us knew Trina personally - as a family member or dear friend, many of us were online/cyber friends, readers of her blog, members of her FaceBook list - some of us only knew "of" her.



The one constant truth is: We all can't imagine this world without Trina in it.

We could go on and tell her story of her courageous fight against cancer, how she survived breast cancer more than a decade before only to find out she had it again so many years later...had to terminate her pregnancy...had to fight for her life... had to look into her son's eyes knowing it was the end.


Trina wouldn't want that - SHE would want us to focus on LIFE, on the living - on those she loved so very much. One of Trina's favorite sayings was "SHAKE N BAKE." It was how she signed off on most of her blog posts. To those that know her, it's the perfect expression. Trina was always in a constant state of motion. She loved her life, her family, and was happiest when she was with them. Trina would want us to focus on the good times. Trina would want everyone to SHAKE N BAKE.


Not only do we want this to honor her memory, but to help help the people who she loved the most - her wonderful family.

We want to focus on the person who made her fight to live, her 5 year old son, Asa.


Everyone has been asking, "What do they need?" "Where can I send flowers?"
There are several ways you can help:



1. DONATE: We want to help you to honor Trina in the best way we can think of - through helping Asa.


In lieu of flowers, you can donate to the Trina Gonzalez Memorial by clicking on the DONATE button and making a donation to Trina's family: Asa and Josh.








This will be a HUGE help to them in the upcoming months, and will continue to be of help as Asa gets older. At some point, a fund will likely be set up for Asa directly.


2. PRAY: Please pray for her entire family.
Please pray for her husband Josh and her son, Asa.
Please pray for her parents (Kathleen/Beya & Ysidro/Papa).
Please pray for her sister & brother-in-law, Cameo and Norm.
Please pray for her niece, Valentina.
Please pray for her many other family members who will be grieving, so they may find peace.


3. Please send cards to her family:
The Gonzalez Family
C/O Julia McKenzie
609 Levenhall Drive
Fayetteville, NC 28303
We will collect them and send directly to the family.



4. Leave comments below for Trina's family or visit Cameo's Blog by CLICKING HERE.


5. Go see your physician - make it a New Year's resolution to get checked for your physical and mental health. 1 in 8 women are affected by breast cancer. Trina was not ashamed to share her struggle with bi-polar disorder. It was what made her the person she was. If we can take anything from this, it's that Trina wanted to LIVE an extraordinary life. And she did.

To quote Trina's mom: LIFE is good.


We know that the Gonzalez, Pallay and Curry families appreciate all of the love, prayer, positive thoughts, help, cards and SUPPORT that has been given over the past several months. We, her friends, want to thank you in advance, for the donations, love and support that you are offering to the family in the future.

SHAKE N BAKE!