"There's an angel among us." Those are the words Sarah spoke as she began the memorial service. She looked frail in her black dress. The trying months had taken a toll. Her once vibrant, smiling face held sparks of joy but mostly tears as she began telling us of her love for my friend, Ron, and how it would linger forever.

Ron was always full of life and laughter, a kid at heart. He snubbed no one, was easy to talk to, always there to cheer you up if you were down. He loved children and would gladly give his time to befriend those who were living without a father figure. He was always so concerned about my daughter and me. He was a cherished friend.

When Ron and Sarah became a couple, I thought, what an incredible love story. Distance cannot stop what is intended to be even when we reach middle-age. When you are near 50, like we were, it's easy to feel true love will never pass your way.

Sarah lived in Ireland and Ron lived here in Colorado, but over the miles they fell deeply in love. Ron would travel all the way to Ireland and Sarah would come here as often as she could while they worked on getting her entry to the U.S. for permanent residency; which was taking much longer than either had hoped for.

It was summer time in the Rockies, beautiful motorcycle riding weather. Ron loved to ride and made many friends on his trips. One of his riding friends, Doreen, asked him to take a trip up into the canyon. Ron agreed for he always enjoyed the peacefulness and beauty of the mountains.

They headed out early that July morning. The road was smooth and quiet, not many other vehicles to worry about. They spent several hours traveling the back roads in the canyon without incident; without warning a terrible tragedy was about to strike.

While riding toward home, Doreen asked if they could stop for a few minutes. They pulled onto the side of the road to check on Doreen's bike; something wasn't quite right and she didn't feel comfortable going farther. She commented on how busy it was. They knew they needed to move from that spot quickly. Before either could finish their thought, a large motor home veered off its path, onto the shoulder. In a loud but timeless instant, Ron was swept away.

Road rage, that's what the witnesses say it was. They say another vehicle, a Hummer, sideswiped the motor home causing it to veer onto the shoulder. That vehicle fled the scene and to this day has not been found. It's hard for me or any of his friends to really know or understand what happened that day, but we did know Ron was critically injured. He lost part of his right leg, had many internal injuries and his brain was swollen.

As soon as Sarah heard the news she was on a flight to the United States. She got to Ron's side as quickly as she could. He was in a coma but she felt her presence would give him strength to make it back. Those first few weeks were hard on all. Not only was Ron fighting for his life but there was fighting among the relatives.

Since Ron and Sarah were not yet married, Ron's son, Mike, gained control of making decisions for his father. Mike lived in Ohio, had little to do with his father, how could he possibly know what was right? Ron had not seen his son much since he moved to Colorado, after he divorced Mike's mother. There were hard feelings between the two of them and Mike was determined to ban Sarah from visiting Ron. He had Ron moved several times so Sarah didn't know where to find him.

From my perspective, it seemed like Ron's son didn't care what was right. He didn't care about Sarah's love for his father and how it seemed to sustain him. It was like he wanted his father to die. At one point he actually tried to push for removal of life support. Thank God the judge ruled against it. The judge felt it was too early and Ron needed time. He also ruled that Sarah was to be allowed visitation for several hours a day, but she wasn't granted access to his medical records. It was hard for Sarah not knowing exactly what condition Ron was in. She could physically see him healing but didn't know what the status of his brain injury was or his other internal injuries as the doctors weren't allowed to tell her anything.

After a couple of months and several court cases, things began to settle down. Sarah was given more access to Ron and more information about him. Ron originally had been in a drug induced coma to keep the pain at bay but when they reduced the medication he was still in a coma like state, a vegetative state. They moved him to a rehab center where he could heal. I, along with many others, kept him in constant prayer, hoping for a miracle, hoping one day he'd be able to look at Sarah and call her by name.

Sarah had no way to support herself while she was here and depended on the love and generosity of Ron's friends. Many of us pitched in. There was an account set up at a local bank for people to donate funds. There was a motorcycle ride fund raiser as well. Hundreds of riders turned out in support of Ron. This money was used to help maintain any bills the insurance would not cover.

Life was moving from day to day and Sarah remained by Ron's side. Their soulful love far outweighed any kind of physical relationship. To watch the two of them and their story unfold left warmth in my heart, even though there was pain. Ron was now tracking Sarah's movements and breathing on his own. He'd squeeze and rub her hand with his thumb. I knew by the look in his eyes, how they were fixed on her, he still adored her. It felt like things might be looking up, maybe he was finding his way back.

It was early in November when the snow started to fly. Sarah, being from Ireland, wasn't quite use to this. Some days she would miss her trip to see Ron for fear of driving on the icy roads. Can't blame her, the roads in Colorado can get pretty ugly when we get 4 to 6 inches or more of snow and if you aren't experienced driving on them, best to stay put. Those days were hardest on Sarah as she didn't want Ron to feel abandoned.

The funds from the insurance, which were covering Ron's care at the rehab, began to run low in mid November. The court ordered Ron moved from the rehab center into a nursing facility due to cost. I wondered about this decision, and if by making this move Ron might be condemned to death. What the doctor told Sarah in the weeks to follow broke my heart, and if mine was breaking, I could only imagine what Sarah was going through.

Ron was having a terrible time fighting off infection and was moved to the hospital. He had been on so many antibiotics over the prior months his body no longer responded to medication. After several days his doctor decided they should move him back to the nursing home were he could pass with dignity and in peace. I thought he only had days when I heard this news.

Ron was a fighter though; mid December found him still hanging on. That's when Sarah had a heart to heart talk with the doctor, who in detail told Sarah about Ron's condition. According to the MRI, Ron's brain had been damaged so badly in the accident it was beyond repair. This was a fact Sarah had never been made aware of. The doctor told Sarah, "Ron doesn't recognize you; he only knows you are someone or something safe."

Sarah queried, "What about the eye movement then and how he watches me? What about the movements when he squeezes my hand?"

The doctor replied, "That is brain stem activity." She also told Sarah, "Even though his brain isn't functioning, on a metaphysical level, your presence and the presence of his friends has helped him over the months."

His soul knew what was happening and it was his soul, I believe, that kept him fighting, ever trying to get back to his beloved. The doctor also told Sarah his body would soon succumb to the infections overtaking it. Time was short, we all knew that now.

With Christmas approaching, all of us were praying for a miracle, but in our own ways coming to terms with what the final outcome would be. Christmas came and went, Ron was still with us. On January 1, 2010 at 12:15 a.m. Ron let go of this mortal existence and flew into the arms of peace. He said goodbye to life on his terms, with a blue moon, and a new year.

"There's an angel among us", Sarah spoke, "Ron will always be with us, friends, in death as he was in life, and someday we'll all meet up again." So true are her words. For Sarah and Ron, their love lives on and I've no doubt he's by her side every day, whispering, "I love you", in her ear.