Brandon Sean McGuinness

This has been a busy week in so many ways. We learned on Wednesday evening that Brandon McGuinness had passed away. Brandon, who was 26 years old, had fought Hodgkins Lymphoma (and I do mean FOUGHT) for a number of years now. Brandon took cancer by the horns and battled like a warrior. And in the end, he actually won, if you want to get technical about it. It was pneumonia that took his life...not the cancer!

He started a company called F*CK CANCER which not only helped to fund his ridiculously high medical bills (in-hospital chemo and radiation, a bone marrow transplant, etc.), but also raised awareness about cancer and even helped some other cancer victims. Brandon's sarcastic humor was his salvation...he never lost his dignity, he never lost his indomitable spirit, and he was so truly an inspiration throughout his illness.

We met Brandon when he was 13 years old and Lyndsea's boyfriend. At Lynds' 14th birthday party at the beach, as we were loading things up in the car, we were in the parking lot and Toni (L's best friend) grabbed me by the shoulders and said, "If you turn around right now, you'll see your daughter get her first kiss!" And I did! It was precious. It was Brandon's first kiss too.

He was the perfect first kiss. Their relationship didn't last that long but they remained friends to the end. And we all just loved Brandon. You couldn't NOT love Brandon.

Then, at 19, when Lynds and Chad came together, they learned they'd been on the cusp of one another's lives for years. They had some very close mutual friends (how they never managed to all be together at the same time prior to 19 is beyond me!). Brandon Sean McGuinness was one of those friends. Chad's friend and Lyndsea's friend. What a blessing.

Wednesday there will be a memorial service and a paddle-out. Brandon's ashes will be scattered in the surf at 14th Street where he lived and surfed most of his life. It's going to be an incredibly emotional time but we're going to get to reconnect with people we love that we haven't seen in a while. Leave it to Brandon to be the one to bring us all back together.

I already miss you, Sean. Your sweet, mischievous smile is seared in my memory. You touched more lives than you even knew. Our love for you runs deep and is eternal. I'll see you on the other side.

Rest in peace...you've earned it.