(False) Labor Day

On Tuesday morning I arrived at work as usual. A little after 9am, my 30-week pregnant coworker, lets call her "J," lay her head down on her desk. I asked her if she was ok, and she said yes. A few minutes later she said she was hot and she started to breath shallowly. I again asked if she was ok; she said she wasn't sure. She started to wring her hands and mentioned that her hands were going numb. I asked "J" if she wanted me to take her to the doctor's office or hospital and she said no. As she leaned over to retrieve her phone from her purse, she fell off her chair. This understandably alarmed me and I quickly got down on the floor with her to assess the situation. She got her doctor on the phone, who told her to go to the hospital. She then called her husband and told him to meet her there. As soon as she got off the phone, I took control. I told her that I would be driving her. I then instructed two other of our co-workers to help her up and get her downstairs to the front door. I then ran out the back entrance of the building and got my car. When I pulled up front, my co-workers put her in my car and buckled her in. At this point, she mentioned that the numbness was spreading up her arms and I could see that she was shivering. I quickly made my way to Utah Valley Hospital. I parked in a red zone and took her inside, where there was no one at the information desk. I ran around until I found someone and said that I had a woman possibly in pre-term labor. They directed us to the 5th floor. As we got out of the elevator and approached the desk, "J's" hands, arms, and face were numb. She gave her name and doctor's name and they gave her some paperwork to fill out. We were taken to a room and she was told to change into a gown. I answered her cell phone and gave directions to her husband as to what room we were in. I started to fill in her paperwork, as best I could, and then helped her onto the bed. After we were done, I took her paperwork to the nurses station and encouraged them to hurry and help her. By that time her husband had arrived and I realized that she had appointments that were going to show up at work. I asked if there was anything I can do, ask her husband to call us with news, and went back to work.
After I returned to work, I had to go down to IT to ask them if they could let me look at her calender so I would know what her appointments were. I covered for her all day and did my best to get as much of her work done as possible. I stayed until 6:30pm, then decided it was time to go home.
On the way home, I stopped at the library, where I received a phone call from Scotty. He was reminding me that I had agreed to go to a new member discussion at 7pm. He picked me up at the library and, when finding out that I hadn't had dinner, went through the Subway drive-through and got me dinner. We were late to the new member discussion but I think it went well. Afterwards, Scotty was driving me home when we realized that my car was still at the library. He quickly changed his route and then asked if I was going to the goodbye party for Dori, a girl in our ward. I said yes and that I would meet him there. I went to the goodbye party and had some ice cream. I then talked to Dave and Angie about Camille. Dave, Camille's boyfriend, is struggling with Camille's death and it was good to talk some things over.
I arrived home after 10pm, exhausted and ready for bed. What a day. The next morning I made sure I was in by 8:30 so I would be ready for "J's" first appointment. As I rounded the corner, there she was. I asked how she was and she replied "fine." I asked how her baby was and she replied "fine."

Funny Onion Article

For those of you who have never read an article from "The Onion," now is the time to start. I thought this article was very funny.

DNA Evidence Frees Man From Zoo

Idaho Falls and home again

After the 280 mile drive to Idaho Falls from Boise, Sarah and I were both pretty tired. We made it by 5pm and the graveside service wasn't until 6pm. We stopped by the house of Sarah's Aunt. We used their computer to make sure that we knew where Fielding Memorial Cemetery was. Since my best girl friend Sarah lives in Idaho Falls, we called and arranged to meet her after the service for dinner. I think that graveside service was harder than the funeral. Everyone was gathered around her coffin and all the flowers that had been sent for Camille. Seeing her casket on the ground made it all too real. Her sister read the life sketch, her brother performed a viola solo, and her father dedicated the grave. Tears were shed and we said goodbye. Afterwards, Sarah and I pulled it together to have dinner at Applebees with Jen Evans and her boyfriend, Dan. They were so cute together and it was nice to see her. At 9:30pm, we left Idaho Falls for Pocatello, ID, and Grandma's house. When we got there, Sarah and I were so emotionally and physically tired that we went to bed. One funny moment happened when I was brushing my teeth. I took my toothbrush out of my bag of bathroom stuff, put on toothpaste, and started to brush. It tasted funny. I rinsed my mouth a lot. Then I reached in for my hairbrush and found it sticky. It turns out that my shampoo had leaked and had gotten over everything, including my toothbrush. Yuck. I rinsed everything off and Grandma gave me a new bag. I threw the broken shampoo bottle away. When we awoke, Grandma made us pancakes, gave us vegetables, and sent us on our way. We drove 208 miles home, with a stop at Mom and Dad's house for a wonderful lunch. We even got to take home leftovers. After we got home, Happy came over, as well as Jason and Joe. It was nice to sit and talk. All in all, Sarah and I drove 870 miles this weekend. It was emotionally, mentally, and physically draining but it was nice to be able to say goodbye to Camille.

In Boise for Camille's funeral

After finding out that Camille had passed away, we wanted to know when the funeral would be. There was never really any question of us going to Idaho for the funeral. We both wanted closure and a chance to support her family through this horrible time. After being told it was in Boise on Saturday morning, I got online and booked a hotel for Sarah and I. We left Friday afternoon, a little after 1pm. I had printed the directions to the hotel from Mapquest, along with directions to the funeral. Sarah and I stopped by Smith's on our way out for treats. We agreed that we needed chocolate, fruit-flavored candy, and something salty. After a few hours of driving, and me reading the TV Guide magazine out loud to Sarah, we decided to stop in Twin Falls for dinner. Sadly, we made the wrong decision. At the Johnny Carinos in Twin Falls we had bad food and bad service. I don't recommend it. So after a total of 380 miles, we finally reached Boise and our hotel. Our hotel was close to shopping and restaurants. We ended up eating a late dinner at TGI Fridays that was less than a block away. I bought a new purse at Target and Sarah bought a new shirt. Without being too boastful, I have to say that I chose well for our hotel room. It was very nice and we slept pretty well. I recommend the Amerisuites Boise Town Square Mall on Milwaukee Street. The only bad part of it was the free continental breakfast. It wasn't very good at all. We left our hotel at about 10:20 in order to arrive at the viewing at 10:30am. Since Mapquest said that the funeral was less than 4 miles from our hotel, we thought it would be a breeze. Sadly, it was not. Unlike Utah roads, the roads in Boise do not generally have numbers. They all have names such as Maple Grove, Victory, Emerald, etc. When you miss a road in Boise, you don't know how far you have gone past since they aren't numbered. After a long detour, we arrived at the church house at 10:50am. It was a nice funeral; if a funeral can be nice. The bishop did a wonderful time talking about eternal families. Camille's brother, Rich, and another relative, performed a wonderful viola and piano duet. Her sister discussed Camille's life and what she was like growing up. Afterwards, Sarah and I decided that we should go and eat before driving the 280 miles to Idaho Falls, where Camille would be buried. We saw Dave, Camille's boyfriend, and exchanged hugs. Sarah and I ate at a Mexican Restaurant, where I didn't like my meal. That's right; 0 for 3 in the meal department in Boise. Sarah and I hit the road by 1:30pm for Idaho Falls.

Camille

On Sunday afternoon, I went home to visit my family. After the horrible week of people searching for Camille, I needed a break. About 20 minutes after I arrived home, Aunt Diane called Mom. Camille's body had been found at the bottom of some cliffs by Bridal Veil Falls in Provo. I couldn't help but burst into tears. I was holding Tanner at the time but eventually gave him over to his slightly worried mother. I immediately went outside to call Sarah. She had heard the news and was heading to our apartment, with Jeff, Heather, and Amy joining her. Despite being saddened by the discovery of Camille's death, I have to be grateful that she is no longer missing. Her family and friends no longer have to imagine her being tortured by a horrible man or laying hurt somewhere. For closures sake, it was good that Camille's body was found, but is still hard to know that she's gone. She was a good person who didn't deserve to be taken from this earth so early. I can only wish peace for her family, her boyfriend, and all of us that are mourning her. The shock has passed and I have moved on anger. I hope that I can move onto acceptance soon. Sarah and I are going up to her funeral, which is being held in Boise this Saturday. For a link to her obituary, click here.

Camille Update

The past week has been a hard one. I've been too sick to be much help with the search for Camille. With my cold, my lungs haven't been in very good shape to go on long walks or hikes. Sarah and Happy have gone out most nights to pass out fliers. Earlier in the week, the Provo police were searching a car wash. We weren't sure what for, but I don't think it turned up much. On Thursday night, Sarah called me while I was driving back from Brittany's birthday party. It seems that a couple had found a bike up by Bridal Veil Falls on Sunday. They decided to take it. On Wednesday, they realized that the bike they had stolen matched the description of Camille's bike and decided to go to the police. When Sarah told me, I admit that I said a bad word. Had they left it there, the searchers would have found it on Monday and could have focused on that area sooner. I guess I have to give them props for coming forward at all. There are probably a lot of people who are just an angry as I am. Anyway, since it was announced on Thursday, the police have focused more intently in on the Bridal Veil Falls area. They have searched the river and fanned out through the woods. Hopefully there will be a discovery of substance soon. For more information read the story on KSL's website.

Horrible, horrible weekend

It's been a long time since I have had this horrible of a weekend. Friday was ok, although I didn't go out because I was so tired from work. Saturday morning I slept in and cleaned after I got up. On Saturday night Dave S. came over. My former roommate, Camille, is missing. Dave and Camille started dating while she was still living with Sarah and I in June. The last time anyone has seen Camille was late Thursday morning. This means, as of today, Camille has been missing for 4 days. When Dave came over to tell Sarah and I, we immediately went to the Relief Society presidents house. We called or text'd everyone in the ward so that we could have a ward fast for Sunday. Dave looked horrible and we were all in shock. I didn't get to sleep until 4 am because I couldn't turn my mind off. All the possibilities kept running through my head.
Camille was last seen late Thursday morning by one of her new roommates. Her bike, a silver and purple Schwinn mountain bike, is missing. When she lived with Sarah and I, she went on bike rides at least twice a week (when she had a working bike.) She loves the outdoors. She didn't have her cell phone, since she had left it at her parents house the weekend before, when she and Dave went up to visit her family. They were mailing her phone back to her this week. I just looked on the KSL news website and the update mentioned that her debit card was used at a convenience store on Friday morning, but it is unknown whether or not it was Camille who used it. Sarah and I, along with many members of our singles ward, put fliers up and went door to door on Sunday afternoon. By Sunday night, I was hit with a full-blown cold and was out of commission for most of the day on Monday. Today I am feeling better, but was only able to stay at work until 2pm. I came home and rested. Even though I am currently exhausted, unable to breath, and have a cough, I still can't seem to truly rest. I am worried about Camille. Please keep your eyes open for her. If you happen to see an abandoned purple and silver mountain bike or see Camille, please call the Provo Police Department.
On another note, I would like to thank all those people who have shown support to Sarah and myself through this ordeal. I have moved from the crying stage to the frustrated and angry stage. Sarah is taking this harder since she has known Camille much longer than I. I feel like I am in some sort of horrible movie that should have ended by now. I can only hope we get some concrete news soon. For more info, there are several websites that you can visit: KSL news, ABC 4 news, and a myspace page that has been set up for her.