SCA7 Through My Eyes

After high school, Callie came to Brigham Young University (BYU) where she and I were roommates for one year. I learned so much from her during that time. The disease had already started to affect her balance and eyesight, so she needed help. I enjoyed being one of the many that helped her. Looking back though, she did so much more for me than I ever did for her. Her positive outlook and fun-filled life, despite having the disease, even now helps me to stay more positive while having SCA7 myself. I know my little sister Aubree feels the same way; she was her roommate for two years after my first year with Callie. In the end, Callie did not just have an impact on Aubree and me, but many, many others that knew her. Coming to BYU greatly widened Callie’s circle of influence in a significant way…

At Carolyn’s funeral, my dad, Rick, was very impressed with all Callie had done to help take care of her mother, and he felt that she should be given some kind of a blessing or reward for herself.  With this on his mind, he suddenly woke up in the middle of one night with a strong and clear impression that Callie should come to BYU.  It was nearing the end of Callie’s Senior year, and most, if not all, admissions deadlines for the next school year had already passed.  This meant it would be difficult to get her accepted and enrolled.  My dad was a professor at BYU, so he was able to use his knowledge of the university’s workings to try to make this happen.  First, he spoke with people at the Admissions Office to see if this would be possible for Callie.  As he explained her situation, they sent him to the Accessibility Office where they handle the cases of those having special physical needs.  Going to them, my dad again explained Callie’s situation, and they were really impressed with her story and were confident they would be able to get her accepted.  They also assured my dad that they would be able to help provide her with all the tools she might need to compensate for her physical limitations and thereby do her best in her classes.

Now my dad knew it would be possible for Callie to attend BYU and receive the extra help she would need with her schooling.  In addition, I was already going to BYU, and I could be Callie’s roommate and helper…something I really hoped she would want to do.  My dad then called Scott, Callie’s dad, to tell him about this idea.  He knew it would be hard for Scott to let Callie go so far away from home and to face the challenge of attending college with her limitations, plus Scott’s time with her was limited.  Also, this was going to be extra scary for Callie, leaving home, family and friends to go to an unknown place with failing eyesight and limited walking ability.  School would be challenging at best.  Despite these things my dad made the phone call and talked to Scott about the idea.  I also called Callie and tried to persuade her.

Callie and Scott came back to my dad with the decision that Callie would come to BYU! This was really exciting news to me. The previous year I had attended BYU while living at home. During this time my high school friends had all gone different ways, and sadly, I was not making any new ones. It was lonely, but now super-fun and awesome Callie was coming! Our plan was to live in an apartment together (so much more exciting than living at home). I loved being around Callie, and I was very excited about it all. I hoped this would also be a really great experience for her too. In addition, my cousin Kayla, from my dad’s side of the family, was going to live with us. I found a great place for us to live called The University Villa. It was a large complex with many buildings, and they were primarily filled with other BYU students that had the same standards as us (i.e. members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Half of the buildings in the complex were for girls, and the other half were for boys. The complex also had a pool and a couple hot tubs. A definite perk! As residents of this apartment complex we were part of a large singles church ward or congregation that sponsored many social activities for us to get to know each other.

I know Callie had to be nervous. There was so much unknown, and the disease was going to make most everything harder. Callie remembered, “I didn’t know how it was going to all work out. I tried to imagine how I was going to do things. I didn’t have my classes yet, and I didn’t know where I was going to live. Mandee figured it all out. I just went up there and tried to have a lot of faith.”

When Callie arrived at Provo, UT, we had to move and do a lot of things to prepare for the start of school. First, we moved her things into the apartment, and then she said goodbye to her dad and brother. It was sad, but she would stay close to them with many phone calls over the months to come. Next, Callie, my dad, and I walked to campus. We first went to the Accessibility Center to introduce her to the staff there and to make a plan for all her classes. They needed to figure out the help she would need. She had decided to study Spanish, since it was something she enjoyed learning and had a talent for speaking it.  The Accessibility Center put all her books on tape, gave her magnifiers and a computer that had special programs on it to enlarge everything (making reading easier). The Center even assigned class aids to attend her classes with her in order to take notes. Later, aids were also made available to help her take tests when that time came. Callie was grateful for all the help she was given, so she could obtain a college education. Of note, Callie was always a straight A student in high school, but at BYU she did not get all A’s. This frustrated her because she felt like it did not represent her true knowledge and ability. She felt that if she could see her tests and take them on her own, then she would have done a much better job than she did having to rely on someone else to read it to her and write answers for her. Again, she appreciated all the help she was given, but at times she longed to just do things on her own.

By the start of school it appeared everything was in place for Callie except one thing – getting her to each of her classes. Callie still walked pretty good; in our apartment she did not need help. She was wobbly, but by using the walls she was able to get around just fine. Outside of the apartment, she needed help and preferred holding someone’s arm for balance. Her balance was not the only issue though. The light from the sun worsened her blindness, so she also needed someone to be her eyes and guide her. Using a walker was out of the question because she could not see well enough outside to actually use one. Also, she did NOT want to use a wheelchair!  She never used a wheelchair while attending BYU. Again, she preferred to hold onto someone’s arm for help.  We needed to find people to help her walk to school, each of her classes, and then back home at the end of the day.  With her schedule and mine, I would not to be able to help her every time. We decided to ask members of our church or young singles ward to help out. Callie was OK with this plan, even though she hadn’t met any of them. This is something I loved about her; she did not mind who helped her, and she was grateful for their help. When we met our large ward the first Sunday before classes started, we began to ask for help. A bunch of people signed up, so that we had someone to take her to campus, to each of her classes and home each day.  It was very inspiring to see so many people willing to help her out!

School finally started and everything went fairly smoothly. I confess that the first day of classes I was super nervous that someone was going to forget Callie and she would be left stranded. This of course was before everyone had cell phones. That first day I prayed that everyone would remember their commitment to help her and that Callie would be OK and enjoy it all. Callie, on the other hand, was not worried; she remained optimistic and excited. It was a huge relief later that day when it was my time to walk her to a class that I saw her. She was where she was supposed to be! Amazingly, it all worked out great. Callie once told me the following about all those who helped her: “I have been able to become so close with a bunch of the people in the ward. Some of my closest friends in the ward are those that walk me to class because I get to spend time with them everyday. I am thankful for that.” This is one of the blessings that comes from this disease…growing close to those that help you.

In general things continued to work out well, but sometimes people did forget to walk Callie to class. This left Callie in difficult circumstances. Like I said, this was before most people had cell phones. Some people had them, like Callie, but very few others did. Most just had land lines in their apartments. When someone forgot her, Callie usually had a hard time finding someone else. Most of the time, when those around her noticed she was left stranded, they would offer to help. Sometimes this was someone she knew, and other times it was other students, strangers, walking by that would stop and offer to help. She was always very grateful for those who helped her. Callie remembered, “One time I didn’t have a test reader because they forgot to come. Someone in the hall offered to help me, I didn’t [even] ask them. They heard me talking on the phone, and they just offered. Sometimes someone will forget to come take me to my next class. People in the hall will just offer to walk me. It really helps. BYU is so great like that.” For better or worse, this example shared was not a rare event, but it always worked out.

There were some instances that were particularly difficult like when someone would forget to walk Callie home to our apartment. These were situations in which a stranger could not help. When it happened, she would have to turn to her cell phone and start calling people. Callie said the following about those frustrating times: “Sometimes you get sick of people helping you, and you just want to do things yourself but you can’t.  A couple of times I have had to call people to take me home, but I am so sick of people having to help me that I would just sit there for a while doing nothing because I got sick of asking people to help me. I just hoped that someone I knew would walk by.” One day I came home from school, and Callie was not home yet. She was supposed to have arrived home hours before me. Then she walked in the door before I could even call her, and I could tell she was deeply agitated. She explained how someone had forgotten to take her to class, and then she already missed most of the class before someone could help. At that point she did not want to walk into class late. Next, the volunteer to walk her home forgot, so she had to start calling people (probably after sitting for a while in frustration). Apparently, she had a hard time finding someone, and that is why she was so late and distraught. I got upset hearing this and was ready to go tell those forgetful people off! Callie would not let me though. She did not want to make anyone who helped her feel bad. Despite the difficulty of these situations, things always ended up working out. The Lord really watched our for her. I believe there were many praying for her, especially her dad.

Everyday it seemed like Callie came home with a story from the day. Typically someone had forgotten her, or she had an embarrassing fall. Other times it could be a little miracle. She would often humorously recount these stories, as she loved to make others laugh. Once she fell when a boy was walking her to a class. She described herself dramatically falling right into a bush! Then there was a time when a good-looking and muscular boy was helping her to a class, and she awkwardly fell right on top of him! She laughed while telling these stories; she loved to laugh. Callie was so resilient, and she was able to bounce back from many hard things by using humor and maintaining an optimistic attitude.  She was such a bright part of my life.

Our first semester together was busy and full of a lot of new things, and it was so much fun!!! School kept us busy of course, but the biggest part of our experience was the social. Every day was always packed full of fun activities. Our church singles ward had lots and lots of activities…every Monday, Wednesday and Sunday night, plus most Saturdays too. In addition, we went to church with these same people, and there we were all given callings to serve one another in various wholesome ways. We really enjoyed all the people there that we grew to know and love so much.

In addition, we also did things with my family each week. Every Sunday Callie, my siblings, cousins and I would gather at my parents for a family dinner. Also, every Tuesday at 10am there was a campus wide university devotional at which professors, religious leaders, renowned authors, thought leaders, etc. would speak. Callie and I would meet up with my parents and siblings to hear the devotional at the BYU Marriott Center (where the devotionals were held and also where other events like basketball games took place). We usually sat close to the front since my mom was in a wheelchair. Afterwards, my dad took us all out to lunch. It was a real treat for all of us, and I have many great memories of us doing this. One time Elder Oaks, one of the 12 apostles, came to speak at a devotional; he personally greeted us and shook my mom’s hand.

Callie also went out almost every week with Sister Freestone, our Bishop’s wife. When she and Callie first met, they discovered that they were related, second or third cousins. They became instant friends, and Sister Freestone was determined to help Callie in whatever way she could. She would come to our apartment to pick up Callie for their outings. They would go shopping, eat out, or whatever she had planned. Once, she signed them up for a knitting class for the blind; later they joined an actual knitting club. They were part of this club for a while. I remember Sister Freestone helped Callie do all her Christmas shopping and then wrap the presents with big beautiful bows. Callie was so thoughtful with her gifts. Aubree remembers Sister Freestone signing up herself and Callie to take a class on how to help the blind. She continued to help and serve Callie for all three of her years at BYU. Over this time these two women became close, like family.

Callie was a very fun and social person. A few of her favorite social activities were hot tubbing, pulling pranks, and going to the Malt Shop not far from our apartment, for ice cream. She discovered the Malt Shop in the first year and continued to frequent it more and more regularly in the following two years. She loved ice cream! She would usually order a large malt (which was a whole lot of ice cream!). It was impressive how quickly she could consume one. She also bragged that she had never paid for her own malt. Those that took her would usually offer to pay, and usually is was a boy who treated. The few times that someone did not offer to pay, she would conveniently not have her money with her! In a picture collage at the end of this post you will see a classic picture of Callie in the hot tub with a malt in hand. She was so much fun to be around and made me laugh almost every day. I absolutely loved being her roommate!

One part of the single life that was hard for Callie was dating. She was very beautiful and so much fun to be around, but she was already showing symptoms of the disease, so she did not get asked out on dates (at least not during our first semester together). I know this was hard for her. During this first semester I went out on several dates, met my future husband, and began to date him seriously. At the end of the semester when Callie went home for Christmas, she had the aforementioned conversation with Lance about dating and marriage. He had been worried that she would get married soon and move away for good. Callie reassured him by saying, “I don’t think I will. Boys are kind of afraid of me.”  Lance then asked, “So are girls afraid of me?” She responded, “I think so.” Lance then said, “Well then, after we die and during the Millennium, everyone will want to get a divorce to marry us.” Callie loved her brother, and she too remained hopeful and optimistic for a future day.

This is one of my biggest regrets about my first semester with Callie because it put a distance between us that I did not like. When I went out on dates, Callie would be left alone. Our other roommate, Kayla, had come down with mono, so when not at school or work, she was always sleeping to try to recover. I went out almost every weekend, and I left Callie behind too easily. Although, I do know that some of our friends in the apartment complex would invite her to do things and she herself would also call people to come over. She was very social as mentioned. While I don’t regret going out on dates, I do sincerely regret not even trying to include her. Looking back I could have very easily gotten her a date, so we could double. There were so many good guys that would have gladly gone out with her, or, when Dave and I started dating, we could have included her more often than we did. I just left her too often and too easily. She was super nice and supportive about it, but I could see the hurt in her eyes.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda… I should have done it, and Callie would have loved it! Our relationship could have been so much better and sweater…but I didn’t. I worried too much about my own future and didn’t help Callie like I should have. I should have trusted that as I worried more about others that needed me, it would have all still worked out OK for me. Callie was so patient and kind to me. I just feel bad that she was the “guinea pig” to help teach me these lessons.

Over her three years at BYU Callie did get asked out on some dates. She made friendships with a lot of boys, and they were good and kind to her but never serious. Callie once told me, “Everyone at  BYU is either married, engaged, has a boyfriend, or is looking for a boyfriend. I have known ever since I came out here that I will most likely never have a boyfriend or get married while I am here on earth. It has been one of the hardest things to have all my roommates going on dates and getting engaged. I just have to sit back and watch. It gets hard, but it’s OK.” She deeply desired to get married and to be a mother. Although she knew she could not have these things in this life because of the disease, it still hurt when she was reminded of it. She maintained great hopes though to have these things in the next life. She would sometimes joke that when she died, she was going to date Alvin Smith, Joseph Smith’s really good older brother who died before getting married. Whomever Callie ends up marrying, he is going to be super lucky to get someone as awesome, through and through, as Callie! And her children are going to be greatly loved by her. I love imagining her this way.

My husband, Dave, had the opportunity to get to know Callie pretty well with all the time he spent at our apartment during that first semester. He thought she was fun, kind and such a genuinely good person, and he was touched by her example and faith. He also helped walk her to school sometimes, and he even forgot her once! He still feels bad about it. Most importantly though, he believes that if it was not for Callie, he and I might not be married. Callie once spilled the beans to him that I really liked him, and this was just the encouragement he needed in order to keep dating me. We did include Callie a few times in our dates or activities. We took her to Salt Lake one weekend to see temple square and enjoy a live play at the Conference Center. Another weekend we took her to hike up to the “Y” on the mountain. Dave and I each held one of her arms, and together we all hiked the mile of switchbacks to the top of the “Y”. Once we reached the top and told Callie about the steepness of the mountain, she became quite nervous. She was scared that she was going to fall down the mountain to her death!

Prior to the start of the second semester, my cousin, Kayla, our roommate, moved out to live with some other friends. This left two open spots in our apartment. My best friend from high school, Katie, moved in along with Callie’s cousin from her dad’s side, Melissa. Callie and I were both super excited to welcome them! Melissa was very close friends with Callie, since they grew up spending a lot of time together. During the first semester Melissa had attended BYU Hawaii and ran for its cross-country team. As the second semester was her off-season, she came to BYU Provo to live with Callie. These two cousins were two peas in a pod – two super fun peas!  They played so hard together. Katie was very good to Callie too. I am so grateful Melissa and Katie came! They took the fun we were having to a whole new level. The four of us had the best semester together!

Here are some of the fun things we did. Early on in the semester we went to a fabric store and bought black pleather and hot pink fabric to recover our ugly plaid couches in the living room. Almost every night before going to bed the four of us would have a dance party. We also enjoyed a giant communal candy stash. There were many hours spent hot tubbing; I think Callie and Melissa went almost every day. I remember one weekend when Callie and Melissa came home at around 2 a.m. from hot tubbing. Another night, they had the idea to put a bottle of dish soap in the hot tub, so we did. The bubbles just kept growing higher and higher. They were probably four feet high, and Callie was standing there in the middle of the hot tub with bubbles up to her neck. Then she lost her balance and fell, disappearing. We all jumped in after her, frantically searching for her in the mountain of bubbles! These are just a small sampling of our many adventures that semester.

In addition to playing hard, these two cousins worked hard at pulling pranks. Here are a couple I remember doing with them. First, we made a disgusting mixture of oatmeal. Callie then filled her mouth with it before we knocked on several doors of people we knew in the apartment complex. When greeted at the door, we indicated that we had come to say hi and visit for a bit. Callie would then pretend to feel sick, then gag, and finally throw up on the floor, spitting out the oatmeal mixture onto the kitchen linoleum. We got quite the reactions, especially when they found out that Callie had fooled them! Another time, Callie did a prank phone call just after the four of us returned home from a church party at a nearby park. Callie called our Relief Society President, Caroline, who had also gone to the party, and she said that she was lost! Callie explained that she had been left all by herself after a spat with her roommates, and now she was standing alone on a sidewalk. When Caroline asked where she was, Callie just told her that all she knew was that cars were driving by, she was on a sidewalk, and she thought there might be a stop light close by but was not sure. Caroline told her that she was going to call some people and then she would call Callie right back. When she called back, Callie then told her that she was just kidding. Caroline laughed and told Callie she just about gave her a heart attack! No one could get mad at Callie though; she was too sweet of a person!

Callie made this semester together so memorable for all of us. Being around her and seeing her optimistic attitude, despite difficult challenges, made my own life perspective change. Once she was asked to give a talk on resurrection at church. It was powerful. It was humbling to watch her be assisted by someone up to the podium, and then we watched her give her talk from memory since she could not see to read any notes. I remember the congregation was extra attentive and eager to hear what she had to say. The spirit of the Lord was present. In her talk, she spoke of one day seeing her mom again but with a perfect body, and she spoke of her and her brother Lance also having perfect bodies together with her family in heaven, a body with which she could run and see again. She credited the possibility of all this to our Savior, Jesus Christ, and to His resurrection and atonement for us. I remember realizing that this is what hope, true hope, really is.

Living with Callie, I got to see first hand just how difficult little things could be. I saw some of this with my mom, but Callie being my peer, really impacted me. She once told me how much she wished that going blind was not part of this disease. She said that loosing her coordination and balance were hard enough, but adding blindness on top of it made almost everything a struggle. One morning I sat and watched Callie as she clumsily and blindly poured herself a glass of milk for breakfast. Her hands were uncoordinated, yet she managed to keep a finger inside the glass to know when to stop pouring by feeling the liquid touch her finger tip. In the process, she accidentally spilled milk on the floor (not a little), and then, she tried to wipe it up which was also difficult for her. She left the kitchen a little discouraged. I let her do it on her own though because she did NOT want help with things that she could do on her own, even if it was hard for her. Everything seemed to be so hard. I also remember watching her on her mom’s birthday as she cried most of the day because she missed her so much. Then there were other times that she would share with me the struggles of her little brother; the disease was progressing so fast with him. On another occasion we were outside, and she noted how much she missed being able to see all the beauty of nature around her. Despite all these major struggles day by day, Callie was one of the happiest people I knew. She was so happy, and it was hard not to be happy when you were around her. She loved her family deeply, and she loved those around her. She loved life! The year I spent as Callie’s roommate, I grew, matured and learned so much from her. I am so very grateful that she came to BYU!

My friend Katie expressed similar feelings of appreciation and admiration. She shared the following about her time with Callie: “My memories of Callie are very dear to me because she was such a fun and outgoing girl even amidst the struggles of dealing with her disease. The biggest influence Callie had on her roommates and the students around her was that she brought us closer together. Because of the help Callie needed, she got to know everyone who was willing to help and in turn we as her roommates met so many people. With Callie as my roommate that semester I would not have had the social circle that we had. She was the center of attention because of her dynamic personality and the help she needed. People loved spending time with her so it was easy to find those to volunteer. I remember Callie laughing a lot. She helped to lighten the mood when times were tough in college. One of my favorite memories of her is the image of her sitting in a hot tub with bubbles coming up over her head. Oh my goodness I love that girl. She made life happier and helped create closer friendships for all of us who knew her.”

At the end of this semester and school year, Callie went home to Arizona for the summer, Melissa returned to BYU Hawaii, Katie went to live with other friends, and I got married to Dave. I could not be Callie’s roommate any longer. However, my sister, Aubree had just graduated high school, so she and Callie made plans to live together the next year. Callie ended up coming back to BYU two more years, completing a total of three years of college. At that point the disease became too much, and she decided to stay home in Snowflake.

Aubree was a really great roommate for Callie. She also had the disease, but at this time she only had minimal blindness. Together these two cousins just enjoyed life and their college experience. In addition, they were assigned two other roommates that they did not know: Paige and Nicole. Nicole was an identical twin, and her twin sister, Carissa, came over to their apartment all the time. It was like having a fifth roommate. All of these girls were really good to Callie, and they made great memories together.

That year the opening social at their apartment complex, The University Villa, was a pool party with a beach theme. There were paper palm trees and other decorations. Somehow these girls managed to take home a palm tree, and they put it in the living room next to a love seat. Very soon thereafter, they had the idea to hold a kissing contest under the palm tree. Whoever could get the most kisses on the cheek under the tree in a month’s time would win. The girls kept score on a poster board hung on the wall near the love seat and  tree. Tally marks were added next to each of their names after they got a kiss, and they were boldly flirtatious with the boys. If a boy came by, they would ask him for a kiss on the cheek under their tree. Aubree said that Callie would actually call the boys she knew to ask them to come give her a kiss. With her bold efforts, Callie won… But they all had a lot of tally marks!

Another thing Callie, Aubree and their roommates enjoyed doing was throwing dance parties. Their roommate Paige was a DJ at the local skating rink, so she had a bunch of great dance songs. Before throwing a dance party, they would clear out the furniture in their small living room and kitchen, and then Callie would start inviting those living in the nearby apartments to come join them. Paige would play her music, and their small apartment would fill up with people dancing. Callie was really good at planning events like this. A picture of one such dance party can be seen below.

As Aubree went out on dates most weekends, Callie would spend that time with her other roommates. Paige, the DJ, was a tall girl who loved basketball. Callie also loved basketball, a love she picked up from her brother Lance. Together, Paige and Callie watched many games together on TV. During March Madness, they made a giant tournament bracket with all the teams and then placed it on their living room wall. When the games were playing they would invite other fans to come over and watch with them. Usually, these invitations were extended to boys. Callie, Paige, their other roommates and the boys would compete to see whose bracket predictions were closest to the actual outcome. These were quite the parties, and there was generally plenty of pizza for everyone too.  Again, Callie was good at planning these parties and getting people together. A picture of their bracket can also be seen below.

Nicole was also a great roommate to Callie, but like Aubree, she was gone during most weekends with a boy she was dating. Her identical twin sister Carissa, however, was usually at their apartment. These cute sisters were on the BYU cheer team. In build they were very short and slender. Carissa loved boys! She would often talk to Callie about boys and try to match her up. She would even take Callie with her to go to the boys’ apartments to flirt. Callie said it was scary though because it was hard for small Carissa to help her walk… The boys were real nice to Callie. They always tried to help her out in any way possible, and she often called them to help her with her Spanish, since most were return missionaries that had learned the language while serving abroad. Callie really enjoyed both Carissa’s and Nicole’s friendship.

Callie and Aubree had a fun, playful and almost sister-like relationship. Interestingly, Callie found a service where you could have groceries delivered to your home. Her orders would be delivered to their apartment, and almost everything she ordered was candy. In fact she kept a large candy stash under her bed. This candy stash became famous, and she maintained it for the rest of her life wherever she lived. One time Callie’s cell phone stopped working and when she took it to cell phone store to be looked at, they found melted chocolate inside. And sometimes Aubree would wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of paper being crinkled and ripped, and then see Callie on the floor eating candy next to her bed. Knowing that Callie could not see well, Aubree would often sneak some of her candy (at times with Callie right there in the room!). Callie would sometimes hear the noise of the wrappers and catch Aubree in the act. She would get upset at Aubree with a big smile on her face, so Aubree did not stop doing it.

Aubree also “borrowed” Callie’s clothes and played harmless pranks on her. Callie had a lot of cute clothes, especially with Sister Freestone regularly taking her shopping. At times Aubree would wear Callie’s shirts, knowing she probably wouldn’t notice with her bad eyesight. Sometimes Callie did notice though, and she would get mad at Aubree, again with a big smile on her face, so it did not stop Aubree. For fun and a shared laugh, Aubree would sometimes sneak Callie’s cell phone and put something embarrassing as the saved background. For example, she once put the word “flatulate.” Callie was never the one to notice these things; it was always someone else. Sister Freestone is the one that would usually catch these things, since she helped out Callie the most.

Like any two girls that were close, Aubree and Callie would talk about boys and relationships. Once when Aubree came home from a date, she told Callie that she had kissed the boy on their very first date. Then Aubree proceeded to tell Callie how many guys she had kissed, which was a lot; she kissed guys pretty easily. Callie then told Aubree that if boys were not afraid of her, she would probably be just as liberal as Aubree with her kisses!

After her Sophomore year at college, Callie went home to Arizona for the summer and then came back to BYU for a third and final year. This time she was roommates again with Aubree, but they had two new roommates – Diane (Aubree’s cousin from our dad’s side) and Diane’s friend Nicole (a different Nicole). As always being Callie’s roommate made life a whole lot more fun and happy.

Diane remembers one time when she and Callie went to their neighbors’ apartments to visit and play a fun prank. Callie had a fart machine, and she hid it in her pocket. At the neighbors she pretended to have a stomach ache while they were talking, and then she began pushing the button. It was hilarious to see people’s reactions as they thought Callie was producing these horrible sounding farts!

As in years past, Callie loved throwing parties. She was so good at getting large groups of people together for birthdays, holidays, and for just plain ‘ole fun. She continued to throw spontaneous dance parties. She and her roommates also visited the hot tub and Malt shop often since these were Callie’s two favorite things to do. Below is a picture of Callie in the hot tub with her Junior year roommates, and of course Callie has an ice cream shake from the Malt shop in her hand…classic!

The fun was not limited to hot tubbing, ice cream and parties. They had good clean fun wherever and whenever they could. One of the pictures below shows these four dressed up for Halloween as pregnant exercise instructors! On another occasion I came across an old video that I put into a VCR player to see what show it was. It started out with Callie and Aubree dressed up as old, fat people; they were reminiscing about the good ‘ole days when they were roommates at the University Villa. Tears came to my eyes as I laughed at their hilarious comments. It was so sweet seeing these two together, being silly. Then Diane came wobbling into the room with a walker, followed by Nicole with a cane, also dressed as an old, fat woman, there to join in the reminiscing.  Knowing how skinny all four of these girls were made this skit even more funny to me. This video was for a “Grammy’s Night” activity their church group hosted. At the actual activity, everyone came dressed up in fancy prom dresses and then they watched each others’ videos. Below you will see Callie all dressed up at the Grammy’s with her date.

At the end of her Junior year, Callie went home to Snowflake as usual, but this time she decided to stay home for good. The disease was making school too hard. Aubree loved her time living and rooming with Callie. Here are her words about their time together: “Callie was more than a cousin to me. She was my best friend, roommate, confidant, and loyal companion. She always made things fun, from talking to dancing to pulling pranks to hot tubbing or eating ice cream. We were always laughing. Helping and serving her daily created a bond of love so strong between us that when she moved back to Snowflake, I would catch myself still thinking of her and worrying about if she had someone to walk her to each class. I feel so lucky to have spent so much time with her. I love and miss her.”

Callie did not just have an impact on Aubree and me, but many, many others that knew her. Many stayed in contact with her after she left BYU, like Sister Freestone, the knitting club, her roommates, and those she grew close to through all the service they rendered her, including some boys. Coming to BYU greatly widened Callie’s circle of influence in a significant way…