In Loving Memory of Allyson Zalva

Sadly, my friend Allyson Zalva passed away a few days ago, 39 days after being diagnosed with Glioblastoma. Allyson has been a hospice nurse for many years and knew precisely how quickly things would unfold for her from her own experiences helping others with this same diagnosis. She possessed a very rare strength of acceptance and immediately began focusing on closing out her journey on this side of life by planning her own "living funeral". Over 200 friends, family and colleagues were gathered at her home to celebrate her life -with her-. She hired a band to play all of her favorite music, everyone brought her favorite vegan dishes and far more laughter was shared than tears.
Allyson's own strength of acceptance helped us all in our struggles to accept that we'd soon be faced with her departure. She said to us, "You're not really losing me. I'll be in the wind, in the sunshine, in the flowers and the trees. I'll be everywhere. I'll still exist, but in a different form." What a powerful and beautiful perspective. She absolutely had no fear and reminded us of it often.
We lost Allyson two and a half weeks after her "living funeral". How grateful I am to have known her. I met her through my friend Lanise about 7 years ago. In summer of 2021, the three of us traveled to the Faroe Islands together. This trip was filled with many quite amazing adventures. I posted several videos of them here on my channel that summer. These are some of the highlights of that trip, which also are some of my most favorite memories with Allyson. She had such a big personality, an incredibly deep soul and absolutely loved animals as you can see in this tribute to her.
We'll miss you Allyson. Until we meet again, we'll be reminded of you in the wind, the sunshine, the flowers and the trees. And as for me personally, I'll always think of you on the mountain tops in the Faroe Islands.
Music Credit - "The World Exploded into Love" by Bob Schneider
#hospice #hospicecare #hospicenurse