In loving memory

I found out yesterday that my best friend from about 4 years old to 3rd grade died on Wednesday. I haven't spoken to her in about 10 years but it still hurts. We were best friends until my family moved from the coast and then we became pen pals (before the time of the internet). We stopped writing each other frequently around junior high age just due to life and both of ours being busy.
I remember when she was diagnosed with Lupus. It was right before we moved. I didn't understand what it was but my mom told me she was very sick. For 22 years she's been on so many different drugs, they took such a toll on her body. From what I can tell on her facebook page, she had a brain aneurism which lead to a massive stroke and it was just too hard to overcome. She's been in the hospital for awhile now and started to get better but then things got much worse.
I've never had someone, a friend at least, that I was extremely close to die. It's a strange feeling. Someone in my high school class died that my husband was childhood friends with but I was never really close to him so it didn't hit me like it hit him. I'm sure this won't be last as we all have to meet our maker but the first is always hard.
I keep replaying the few memories that I have in my head. We had a few "spend the night" parties. Me mainly at her house because she had cooler stuff and I had to share a room with my sister and she was sick so I'm assuming that had something to do with it too.
One of my favorite memories was at her birthday "spend the night" party, we rented Dirty Dancing and the VCR's had just started having the freeze buttons and slow motion buttons. They always had the newest technology first. They were the first people I knew who had one of those massive televisions that took up a whole wall. Anyway, we would freeze it on Patrick Swayze's butt and go in slow motion. LOL. First off, I thought she was rich because her VCR did that and secondly I wish there was video of us doing that. A room full of 7 or 8 year olds thinking we were doing something scandalous. LOL. She also had a trampoline and go karts. We had none of those things. The first time I was ever on the internet was at her house. She and her brother showed me and my sister Leslie what a chat room was. The first time Leslie and I were allowed to stay home alone, she came over and kept us company, we played yahtzee all day.
Even though we lost touch with each other she still holds a very important place in my childhood and will be forever missed. I'm glad she no longer has to fight, she's had some really tough battles through the years, she can rest now.
I hope and I know one day Ellie will have a best friend to share her special memories with. When I see them together it will remind me of Jessica.