We Had a Nice Celebration Until We Learned....
Dave Aiello wrote, "I'm sure that the last 24 hours have been the most emotionally draining period since September 11 for me and my wife, Kathleen. On Thursday morning, we learned that Kathleen had matched for residency at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital's pediatrics program in New Brunswick, NJ. This was her first choice for a number of reasons, including strength of its program, quality facilities, and proximity to our friends and family. It is considered an achievement to win a job at the program of your first choice-- it means they wanted you as much as you wanted to be there."
"We had a nice celebration with her friends from Jefferson Medical College and our families. But, bad news began to reach us when we arrived home from dinner and connected to the Internet."
Dave Aiello continued:
I received an email from Dick Trimble telling me that Mike Condon died of a heart attack Thursday at age 43, at his home in Philadelphia. I knew Mike through my association with the Atlantic District Officiating Program of USA Hockey. He was known to more people as a veteran official in the American Hockey League and the East Coast Hockey League. He was also one of the video replay officials at Philadelphia Flyers home games. When we went to bed, I told Kathleen that I planned to go to Mike's funeral, but we tried to focus on the happiness we felt over her successful match.
We were awakened by a telephone call from my sister early this morning. She told us that our grandmother Regina B. Lynch passed away in Buffalo a little more than 90 minutes before my sister called. My grandmother had been in declining health for about a year, but her death was not something I had been expecting to occur at any moment. This is quite sad for us because she has been a source of strength for our family for decades.
It is difficult to say much more at the moment because of the shock of hearing about the death of two people that matter to me in such rapid succession. But, I know that some friends read this web site every business day and will notice if we don't post anything for a few days. Now you know why.