Greg & Vanessa Hilton

Greg Hilton has been my husbands best friend since 2nd grade. They lived around the corner from one another. They played sports together & went to elementary, jr high and high school together. They hung out when they weren't in school. They hung out when they were in school. They hung out on the weekends. He was the best man at our wedding. Greg's family is Fred's second family. They were the definition of 'best friends' but more importantly they were brothers. 

When Fred was on his mission (Greg is not a member of the church), Fred found out from Greg that he got cancer. This would be the start of what would be a long battle with cancer for Greg. He battled that cancer and had a huge chunk of his leg cut out and rip removed. A couple of years later he was snowboarding (and was amazing at it!) and broke his neck (which he didn't know at the time). He drove home himself, slept that night and was still in pain so they went to the doctor. Not only had he broken his neck but the cancer was back. They did extensive surgery and removed part of his spine. Then a couple years later they found out he got cancer again in his eyebrow bone. Once again it was surgery, chemo and radiation. Then not too long ago they found cancer in his lung. He was responding well to chemo and radiation but then a couple of weeks ago he was having trouble breathing so he went in for a CAT scan. They found out that the cancer had completely enveloped his right lung and there was now a baseball size tumor in his left lung. He found that out last Monday. So, they gave him two options. 1. Live out the rest of his life and just enjoy himself or 2. Fight and his chance of living would be 10%. 

Well, anyone that knows Greg is he is a FIGHTER. So, of course he chose to fight. His doctor then told him he needed to go do something fun before they began treatment because this was literally going to be the fight of his life. He said he wanted to marry the love of his life, Vanessa. They had been friends for about 6 years and always had an attraction. They finally made it official earlier this year and were deeply in love. 

Wednesday night we got the call with the happiest and saddest news: Greg had a 10% of living and he was going to marry Vanessa...THIS SUNDAY. Woah. A wedding in 4 days. And Fred was to be a groomsman.  From that call on, it was madness. Fred and I did the wedding favors. They were 'Forget-Me-Not' seeds and a candle with a beautiful message written by Fred. Fred also did all the music for the wedding, putting together a playlist. 

So now fast forward past many long nights, running around to stores, getting tuxes and a nice dress for me to Sunday. It was a beautiful day. They married on the beach in Laguna. It was so perfect. I've never seen a more passionate couple so deeply in love. It wasn't your typical wedding, obviously, but it was so beautiful. Things got crazy at the reception with items lost, misplaced, and not set up correctly but oh well. Beautiful toasts were made by many including Greg's parents, Vanessa's parents, brothers, and even Greg's doctor. He was SO happy and couldn't stop looking at Vanessa. 

I had a quick private talk with Greg that night. I told him how happy I was for him and how he looked so happy. I told him thank you for being a part of Fred and my life and that I loved him so much. I'm thankful for that opportunity. The whole night I was nagging Fred to get a picture with Greg and he kept putting me off because so many others wanted pictures and to talk with him. Right before the last people were to leave I told Fred, "Your going to regret it for the rest of your life if you don't get a picture with him right now!" He finally listened and got a picture with his best friend. 

That would be the final picture he ever took with Greg.

Sadly, Greg passed away a mere 37 hours later.

Monday evening, while the newlywed couple were relaxing in their hotel room, Greg had trouble breathing. He was having some trouble at the reception too but he it started back up again that evening. Vanessa rushed Greg to the hospital at around 10pm. They hooked him up to a breathing machine and a couple of  hours later he went unconscious. Fred got a call at 2am from Vanessa. She told him about Greg and said he may only have a few more days or even hours to live and she felt for some reason to call Fred first before anyone else. Fred got to the hospital about 3 am. He walked in and just cried and hugged Vanessa and Greg's mom, Kathy. At about 7:30am Greg stopped breathing and gently passed away.

I still can't believe it. I'm in shock. I don't want to believe it. Not so soon after marrying Vanessa. But over the past few days that I've been able to accept it and know he's really gone, I am happy. I'm happy that he got to marry the love of his life. I'm happy he got to be surrounded by his family and friends before he passed away. I'm happy he got to see the love we had for him and his sweet bride. And most of all, I'm happy Greg is now cancer free. 

He fought for his life for the past 11 years without complaining. Not once. He smiled through it all. He was a FIGHTER and NEVER gave up. Maybe his doctors knew he only had a few days so they pushed the wedding to be so soon. I think so. I also think he literally was willing himself to live just long enough for that special day and once he was united in marriage with Vanessa, his body, subcutaneously, said 'it's time' and he couldn't hold on any longer. But regardless of the fact that cancer was the cause of his unfortunate death, I still believe cancer did not beat him. He beat cancer. He beat cancer by staying positive, fighting, continuing to enjoy life and smiling through it all. 

His life is a testament to me. I think of him and remind myself that no matter how hard things seem to be, I can still smile, be happy and live my life. I am heartbroken that Greg's life ended too soon. He was only 30 years old. But Greg impacted so many lives by his attitude, friendship, positivity, will to live and optimism.  

This week has been hard. Especially for Fred and Greg's family. We miss Greg. We love Greg. But his influence will live on for many years to come. 

On my way to the wedding...when my hair was still curly.

No heels during this wedding!

Love this picture.

Greg's mom... Fred's second mom.

Intros...

Angela, Vanessa and me. Such a beautiful bride!!

Man of the hour!

Friends!

Gumbas! Greg's relay for life team is the Gumbas. It's also a special thing between Vanessa and Greg. 

Best friends and brothers

I caught the bouquet! They had all women come and try to catch it. 

Instagram versions:

Fred's work found out about our loss and sent flowers. We were overwhelmed with all the love. 

This isn't goodbye... just see you later, Greg. We love you. RIP.