Her uniform consisted of jeans and her favorite t-shirt, and
her daily drills included laundry, dishes and taking care of the kids and pets.
Every day since Sept. 16, 1978 she struggled with the immense pain and tragic
loss of of finding our mother after she shot and killed herself, we were 10
years old and our twin brothers were 2 years old.
My sister suffered from PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder, a term mostly associated with veterans and or current military
servicemen. PTSD is
defined on WebMD as being a lasting consequence of traumatic ordeals that cause
intense fear, helplessness, or horror, such as a sexual or physical assault,
the unexpected death of a loved one, an accident, war, or natural disaster. She
lived 36 years serving others until April 22nd 2014 when she took her own life
just the way our mother did.
In that time she endured neglect, emotional, physical and
mental abuse, at the hands of our father who went on to sexually abuse both of
us. We were separated from our beloved twin brothers and we even entered the
foster care system. What each of us Kym, Walter, Scott and I saw and were
subjected to is nothing short of a torrid tragedy. Walter and Scott would lose
their father, our step father to suicide when they were 19, now a sister at the
age of 37.
Kym left 2 sons, a step son and daughter, a husband and
countless others a sea of carnage to navigate and many struggle with anger,
guilt, feelings of inadequacy and abandonment and I would never tell you what
she did was right. What I will say is she fought, she was a fierce protector, a
passionate advocate and she gave without taking. She survived horrible criminal
acts committed against her and she was abandoned in a violent manner.
We all dealt with these events and actions differently.
Walter moved away from the city his parents are laid to rest, he made a life
and family which he loves and is loved in return along with a great career.
Scott has an incredible family and has used his struggles to help him triumph
and owns a successful business, I have stumbled from time to time but am much
like Scott, he and I understand destructive behaviors and yet we have still
been given undeniable grace and lots of luck. Kym was loved, her beautiful
family embraced her but she spent 36 years reliving that day, she spent 36
years looking back, the rest of us either looked forward or put as much
distance as possible between the hurt and where it happened.
Kimberly (Kym) Rose retired from battle on a Tuesday
morning, leaving many scars, questions and sadness, but it was never her intent
to hurt anyone, I know this because of her last message to me and her children
and husband. I know this because I was beside her for 46 years through our
mother and father. I know this because I know her pain. She was a lover, a
fighter, a wife, a mother, a sister, a grandmother, an aunt, a cousin, a niece
and she was a soldier.
When I find myself looking at pictures of her, my heart
aches, I feel such sadness but I feel she finally knows peace. I miss and love
you sissy, I always will.
