La mademoiselle Megan
When I met Megan, she was holding a box of donuts. It was March 2021, and we were standing in my parents’ driveway, leery of COVID-19....
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- Oct 20, 2022
- 2 min
27 months
"Today's date is the 20th," the poll worker announced this morning as I completed paperwork to vote in Georgia's (very important)...
- Sep 22, 2022
- 1 min
Remembering Ramón
I think we’ve all had the same pressing question lately: How do I live a life that's so amazing they name a bridge after me? Just...
- Sep 12, 2022
- 1 min
Stories of Grief: Drew Dotson
After losing Ramón, I began connecting with other widows on Instagram. (See? Social media has some benefits!) I stumbled upon the Forced...
- Aug 22, 2022
- 1 min
October 1: Save the date!
Several months ago, a *quite* special resolution was introduced to the Georgia General Assembly: HR 918: Judge Ramón Alvarado Bridge;...
- Apr 1, 2022
- 3 min
This is a shout-out to my grievers.
Where all my grievers at? Can I get a BOO-HOO? Just kidding. But if I were to craft a rap about grief, it would definitely start off like...
- Jun 29, 2021
- 2 min
How's my happiness level?
Today, when setting up an online account, I was prompted to select a security question. The first one on the list was, “In what city or...
- Jun 2, 2021
- 1 min
Open doors
One day last June while I was staying in the hospital with Ramón, I decided to watch the video of his swearing in ceremony. Since he was...
- Apr 2, 2021
- 2 min
That's how this works
This day last year, Ramón walked out of our house for the last time. In the days leading up to his transplant admission, he spent more...
- Oct 24, 2020
- 2 min
Thank you for everything
A friend gifted me this leather bracelet in August. She conspired to get a sample of Ramón’s handwriting, and my mom had a note from...
- Sep 2, 2020
- 3 min
Always a rainbow
When home between hospitalizations in late March, I heard a song that resonated with me. As my anxiety about COVID-19 and transplant...
- Aug 17, 2020
- 4 min
Befores and afters
A few weeks ago, two of my long-time cohorts stopped by to enjoy drinks and conversation – and bring dinner (Yum!). My friend Amanda...
- Aug 4, 2020
- 3 min
An August of opportunity
Though I’ve been writing regularly, I haven’t posted much lately. This is mostly for good reason. For example, my friend Elaine came back...
- Jul 26, 2020
- 2 min
One week
It’s been one week since we said goodbye to Ramón, and it’s been more than 14 weeks since I said farewell to the version of Ramón I’d...
- Jul 20, 2020
- 2 min
Day ???
Many of you have followed our story and its constant ups and downs, particularly since Ramón’s chemo/radiation/transplant...
- Apr 4, 2020
- 1 min
One sunset at a time
It’s our third night in the hospital, and we just witnessed the best sunset so far – a Fight Like Mike sunset. Throughout Ramón’s cancer...
- Dec 31, 2019
- 2 min
Peace out, 2019
The time has finally come to say goodbye to one of the best, most awful years of my life. I got a cold on Thanksgiving (so thankful),...
- Oct 9, 2019
- 5 min
It's just a game. But I still hurt.
October 10. 10/10. That sounds like a date filled with promise, doesn’t it? It’s clean and round and associated with a perfect score....
- Aug 4, 2017
- 2 min
The struggle has ended
After a 22-year battle with cystic fibrosis, my friend Darcey passed away on Wednesday, August 3. I first met her when I was an intern at...
- Jul 21, 2017
- 3 min
Walking the path
This photograph will be forever etched into my mind and my soul. The year was 1998, and I was at the annual cystic fibrosis camp, Camp...
My name is Drew Dotson, and my life has been anything but perfect, yet it's still perfectly beautiful. After growing up with a genetic disease, cystic fibrosis, I was blessed to meet an amazing man who loved me without bounds. Then he died.
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