I'll See You Again

On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, at roughly 1:30 a.m., our beloved Keesha Chalis Vinson drew her last breath. She was surrounded by my mother and my older sister. My older sister called me at 1:39 a.m. but I missed her call as my ringer was off. I turned over around 3 a.m. and noticed that I missed her call. I immediately called back and with a whisper, she told me that Keesha was gone.  The hospice nurse was still there but Keesha’s body had already been removed from the house. The nurse declared Keesha’s time of death as 3:14 a.m. Keesha.was.gone.

Immediately grief ran and jumped on my chest causing me to struggle to breathe.  Nights had already been challenging since Keesha was released to hospice care on February 10th but now that she was gone, this night was incredibly hard. We decided to wait until the sun came up to begin notifying our family and friends. I could not sleep so I created the death announcement in Canva. Creating is my superpower and my outlet. I searched for the best picture I had on my phone. The picture I chose was the one where my sister sat across from me as we dined at a local restaurant. It was a picture taken in early 2023 when she had just informed me that her cancer had returned, and it was in her liver. I put as much information into the announcement as I could before conferring with Mom, her church, and others about the details of Keesha’s service. Phone calls were difficult to make. My throat was in a wrestling match with every word I tried to utter. I stopped talking and just began texting. Keesha was gone.

In the days preceding her death, I attempted to read a book to her. It was not landing well so I read her blog posts to her. I had read a few of her blogs last year but paid close attention as I read them to her. I took note of the premise of the blog; to document her natural healing. When Keesha passed, I wanted to get rid of The Breast Factor right away. I was angry that Keesha’s outcome wasn’t what any of us desired and did not want to continue the mission of documenting her journey.  It wasn’t until March 9th that I decided to let TBF live on. The Tasha Brown Foundation will continue to publish blog posts on Keesha’s behalf. Some of the posts will focus on Keesha’s journey, others will be tools to help the followers as they either navigate their journey or the journey of friends and loved ones. I will do my best to honor her and provide resources to you.

My heart hurts. I miss my sister. But I will do my best to honor her legacy.

Rest well, sis. I will see you again.

Love,

Tasha