Guardian angels

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the words guardian angel? Most people think of the spiritual beings that are so often spoken and heard about. I think of them as well, but I also think of 2 people in my family who did everything they could and more to make my life better and more comfortable than it otherwise would have been.

These two people were my mother's sister Beverly Fish and her husband Edward. My uncle Edward, along with his mother, Clara, built from the ground up a company that would eventually become Universal Hospital Services. This company was a medical supply company that woud sell or rent medical equipment to hospitals and people who needed it. My Aunt Beverly started out as a nurse, but when she married my Uncle Edward, she joined him in his company and helped him to make it into a renowned success.

My uncle and Aunt were wealthy people, but unlike most people who have health, they always put other's needs before their own. One of the people they helped was me. Besides providing the money needed to remodel my childhood home almost from the ground up, they also paid for every single penny of my stay at Courage Center for the entire two year period that I was there. Also, they made sure that every home they owned had at least one part of it that was accessible for me. And I should have said that this was the first thing they did, but they also bought me my very first wheelchair-accessible van when they retired in 1987.

Sadly, my Aunt Beverly died of ovarian cancer on September 26, 2001. My uncle died on February 22 of this year. I cannot put adequately put into words how overwhelmed and sad I feel that they're now both gone from this world, but I can say that if it weren't for them, my life would have been completely different from what it is now. I have dedicated myself to passing the good they did for me on to others in whatever way I can. Thankfully, I was able to thank each of them for everything they did for me before they left this world, and that brings me a small bit of comfort.