The peaceful warrior transcends - A hui hou Terri

Many of you already know and there is no possible way I could sum up the life, love, strength, and eventual loss with more authenticity than the love of Terri's life.

Below are Kyle's words from 12/26/22.

----------

My heart is breaking as I announce that Terri Keiko Yoneyama Koyanagi, the love of my life, mother of our children, and the strongest woman I know, passed away Friday, December 23rd after seeing her children and family. She passed peacefully and without pain after a couple of weeks in the Queen’s Medical Center ICU.

From the time Terri was initially diagnosed – while pregnant with our second child Kayden – with advanced Stage 4 rectal cancer that had spread to her liver and lungs, we decided we would fight this to the bitter end; and we were going to do things “our way”. As such, hours after receiving this devastating news, we (with the help of my brother) secured a weekend beach house to gather and spend time with all of our family and friends. Some couldn’t understand how we could be throwing a “beach party” knowing what she was up against. But Terri and I wanted to celebrate life and focus on what we’d be fighting for. Pictures and letters of encouragement from that important beach day remained on our wall over 7 years later as a daily reminder of indeed just what we were fighting for.

Terri pushed on knowing that every effort made and all that she endured led to another minute together. Minutes turned into hours; hours turned into days, weeks, months, and years. And, she wanted more than anything to be present with her children for as long as absolutely possible.

Over the last 7 years we have had many ups and downs with Terri having more procedures and treatments than I can count. Because Terri was immunocompromised, the last few years have been very tough as COVID-19 restricted us from spending time with many of you, our family and friends, and doing things we had planned to do before she passed. This last year became even more complicated with the addition of her ‘ball and chain’ (O2 concentrator)! Terri never let her condition get in the way of being there for our kids. Even with her O2 concentrator we rode crazy carts and fulfilled our pre-COVID promise to Kayden to take her to the Aulani Disney Resort for the weekend. Terri even did a couple of laps with the kids on the lazy river as I frantically tried to follow them in case she needed a hit of O2! (To be honest I was scared shitless because it was my idea, and I had convinced her she would be OK).

We always found a way. For Terri to attend the kids multi-all day baseball tournaments I built her an O2 concentrator battery pack with a motorcycle battery because the O2 concentrator battery only lasts a few hours on its own. Terri never missed their games and was definitely the loudest spectator there (which may shock some)! It’s ironic that it was at Tyler’s baseball tournament that I had to rush Terri to the Queen’s Medical Center Emergency Room six weeks ago. However, not even being in the hospital would stop her from watching the kids' baseball games as she would be squinting to watch the game streamed from Facebook Live on her phone.

Up to the last few days, that fiery, strong, and stubborn woman that only those close to her really knew, never stopped fighting. She was determined to get out of the hospital all along. Before taking her to the ICU, she told her floor nurses that she would be back and would be getting out of hospital, putting one of them into tears.

She continued to fight in the ICU even having a few good days where we were able to watch her new favorite movie Top Gun Maverick and play (and beat) me in Hanafuda to the doctor’s disbelief.

That is who Terri was. It always had to be “her way,” even up the end. In the last minutes of her life, she made me promise that I would not say she lost her battle to cancer. So hon……. here goes:

Terri defied cancer, beating the odds to live over 7 years allowing Tyler and Kayden to find out what an extraordinary person and mother she was.

To all of you reading this now, I hope you will remember Terri as an incredibly strong and courageous warrior who never gave up. She was tougher than tough and served as an inspiration to many due to her attitude, her openness, and how she faced down and overcame so much. You can cry and be sad, or you can do what she would actually want: smile, love, laugh and move forward.

Not much of a crier, but the dang vog must be particularly bad these last few days because my eyes are sporadically watery. However, I find comfort in knowing that even the worst vog makes for the best sunsets, and you are now resting in peace. The kids and I will miss you more than any words can describe.