Abby, Merlin, Owen and Julia

Abigail Stearns Freeman, December 8, 1976 – June 1, 2014

May her memory be a blessing to all who loved her, whom she loved, and to whom she brought joy and wonder.

In accordance with Abby’s wishes, a memorial celebration of her vibrant and inspirational life was held in her home town on the east coast, and another one some months later in the Los Angeles area. Photos and text from these events will be posted on this site.

The story in brief:

In the spring of 2013, Abby was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, a particularly aggressive kind that occurs in about 15% of breast cancer diagnoses. She had no risk factors or genetic predisposition. We immediately began a program of pursuing the best and proven treatment options available, including chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, more chemo, a clinical trial therapy, meditation, prayer, love, and everything else that Abby and Merlin felt would help. No stone was left unturned.

She fought valiantly and with composure and grace, but the cancer was simply beyond the reach of her excellent medical team and the many second and third opinions we sought. There is no cure that we know of. Towards the end, Abby simply wished for her suffering to be over so that Merlin and her children and all the rest of us could move on with her spirit always watching over us.

We join you in finding all of this inexplicable, inconceivable, and incredibly hard. Click here to see how you can help.

Check the blog for more information and for more details on when and how you can help us celebrate this incredible part of our lives. Glad to have you as part of the Team Abby village.

~The Freeman and Larsen Families