Vonnie

02.06. 1978 - 30.10.2001

Vonnie was a unique and very special friend to all of us. It could take us weeks, if not days to share all our memories with you, and we will never stop talking about our experiences of Von.

One classic example is when Vonnie encouraged Sammi to go to McDonalds with her oxygen to win over her fear of the attention she might attract in public.  Bad timing meant that the schools had just closed and so Sammi was faced with loads of staring children.  Vonnie soon made it here job to intimidate them by staring back until they looked away.

Vonnie was the Jonathan Ross of the CF Unit, offering reviews to all the latest films, although not all of us shared her ‘weird’ taste.

She was famous for many things: her tolerance and diplomacy, her pyjamas, gossiping, her experience of marijuana cake in Amsterdam, and her platform trainers (which she swore to us had nothing to do with her 2 car crashes, even though she struggled to feel the brakes!)

We will remember her mobile phone strap, her love of popcorn, candy-floss and all things purple, and the times that she purposely dribbled when someone paid too much attention to our coughing or patronised us just because of CF.

When Von was down, she coped by withdrawing from those around her, but if any of us were low she was a fantastic listener.  She was a lifeline of support and never failed to leave you laughing through your tears.

We are going to miss Vonnie terribly.  When one our friends leaves us like this we can’t help but feel a little abandoned. We are always told that we should try to be strong as that person would hate to see us unhappy.  This is so true in Vonnie’s case – she hated to see any one of us unhappy.

Well, Vonnie…we are trying very hard, but be assured that every memory of you brings a smile.  But it is not easy.  The professionals all talk about quality of life, and for us, you were a huge part of that.  You gave us something to look forward to, and no one will replace that joy. You were our gateway to fun and laughter (sometimes accompanied by wet knickers or the odd unexpected fart along the way…!)

Heaven will really be a better place with you, Andrew and Lou having one hell of a party.  One day we will join you and we’ll rock the place.

We can imagine you as you walked into the light, strapping your mobile phone strap across your chest and stomping in on your blocker-boots.

To us Von, Evy, or Vonda-bon-bon, you will always be 100% quality.

We love you.

From Sammi, Bev, Sam, Shanie and all your Friends for Life.