Benefit for Paul's Family

I cannot thank you all enough for the support and love that has been shown to Paul's family, Nia, and Gil and I.  We are so grateful that Paul had such amazing friends. 

Tomorrow night is the benefit for Paul's family to take care of them during this difficult time. So many awesome items have been donated, and we are looking forward to seeing everyone there! Come by, have some food, have a drink and enjoy the evening for Paul. The details of the event can be found on our "events" page on this site or on Facebook.

In addition to the silent auction and raffle, we will be selling t-shirts for the river run on Saturday! We'd love to have you show your support and wear a shirt for Paul. Shirts will be sold on a first come first serve basis for a $10 donation to the fund. (see shirt artwork below, courtesy of the amazing Karen Kurycki and Kendrick Kid.) A big thanks to Jessica Golder at The Robin Shepherd Group as well for helping us get these printed in time for Saturday's run! 

For those of you running on Saturday! I will be there, taking photos with Nia, Nick, and Taylor on River Oaks road, so be sure to smile and wave at us! 

Every little thing is gonna be alright...

I want to take a moment to write to all of you who have been so kind, and who love Paul so much.

With every passing moment since Paul's passing, I have found comfort in the small things. Each morning, I wake with a song in my head and heart, not songs that I would normally sing, but songs that Paul loved. Most of you that know me, probably know I am not a morning person, and most days I wake with barely a thought in my head, never-the-less an entire song. This morning, on my first day "back to work", this is the song I woke with, "Don't worry, about a thing, cause every little thing, is gonna be alright..." 

This might be a good time to tell everyone that I dislike reggae music. Never liked it. Paul loved it, listened to it all the time, used to play it for his children when they were babies to get them to fall asleep, and it worked for them, just not for me. Paul would put any and all of the Marley's on repeat, and play their tunes until my ears bled. This is how I know that Paul is sending me these songs. I'm waking up with the sun (never did that before) and I'm humming reggae music all day (also not my norm). 

I would encourage all of you that were close to Paul, or any of you that have lost someone so deeply important to you, to look for these little signs and take comfort in them. I expect that some day, when my heart has healed, that I won't wake with these songs anymore, and I will miss them, and I will still miss Paul, but when every little thing is alright again, he won't need to remind me. 

All of that sappy stuff being said, I want to update you on the plans for Paul's celebration of life. Paul did not like being sad, seeing others sad, or attending funerals, so in true Paul fashion, we will not be holding a service. Instead, Paul has always wanted a celebration of life and the things he loved. On May 17th we will be celebrating Paul, when the weather and the water are warm. We invite you to join us, paddle out, honor Paul, share stories with his fellow friends and family, and count our blessings that our lives were touched in some way by this incredible guy. As the event draws near, I will post details here and on Facebook.

On another note, the fundraiser this Thursday night is being rescheduled, and as soon as I know the new date, I will post it on this site. We would still love for people to come out and support Paul and his family during this difficult time. 

In the meantime, any cards or letters, or winning lottery tickets can be sent to the studio, and I will be sure to share them with the family (except those winning lottery tickets). 1803 Hendricks Ave. Jacksonville, FL 32207

Catch waves, ride motorcycles, post selfies, love, be kind, be generous with your time and knowledge, laugh, tell stories, find comfort in the small things, and know that every little thing WILL be alright because that's how Paul would have wanted it.

All my love and gratitude,

-Amy

Feb. 28th, 2014 Update, Morning

It is with a broken heart that I have to inform you all that Paul left us early this morning, just before 2am. He passed away comfortably, in his sleep, surrounded by his family and a few close friends. Although we are heartbroken, as I'm sure you all are, we find comfort in the time we were able to share with him, and the memories we will hold onto forever. Thank you all so much for the overwhelming support and love that you've shown to Paul and his family over the last week. Continue to send your prayers and love their way. I ask that you please respect the family by giving them some time to heal these next few days. We will post information regarding memorial services once arrangements have been made. 

Thank you again for showing Paul how loved he was and how much he will be missed.

-Amy

Feb. 27th, 2014 Update, Evening

Today we read Paul all of the beautiful messages everyone has written. Being off of his sedation for most of the day, he was able to not only hear the messages, but understand them and nod his head in acknowledgement. Sometimes he would raise his eyebrows, sometimes he would give us long slow blinks, but he stayed alert and listened to all of them. We were even able to show him the cards people have sent, and let him see the beautiful website that everyone has been posting to. The doctors and nurses let us play his favorite playlists, which consisted of a lot of Jack Johnson, G. Love, Morcheeba, Bob Marley and other "chill" bands. He seemed to enjoy the time spent with his family, and so did we. Whatever tomorrow might bring, we will face it with love. Please keep praying for a miracle, because we sure could use a few of those and keep sending that love our way. 

Feb. 24, 2014 Update, Evening

Not much to report today, as will probably be the case for the next few days. As I said this morning, the doctors want Paul to rest as much as possible, with as little stimulation as possible. But that definitely doesn't mean you can't visit! Nia, Nick, Taylor, and the rest of Paul's family would love the company. So feel free to come say Hi. 

Since that wasn't much of an update, how about an entertaining Paul story? 

We were on an editorial shoot in The Middle of Nowhere, Georgia, on this dirt road, away from all civilization. We had finished our shoot, and we were walking back to the car, when Paul spotted a snake near the driver's side of his car. Paul was convinced that this was a snake that he needed to "handle". I, being terrified of snakes, immediately advised him against it. However, he continued to pursue the snake and insisted that I come closer than my minimum 10-ft safe-distance and "check it out!". Before I had even made it close to the snake, I realized that what we were looking at was a rattlesnake that had no rattler (sometimes when rattlesnakes shed their skin, their rattles become brittle and break off). Paul, of course, refused to believe me as I was running away, and continued to pursue the rattle-less-rattlesnake.

In an attempt to achieve what I thought would be ultimate safety, I ran to the passenger side of the vehicle and begged Paul to open the doors so I could lock myself inside. Little did I know that the snake had moved in between Paul and the driver's side door, and when Paul advanced to unlock the door, the snake bolted underneath the vehicle, heading toward the passenger side of the car, where I was standing. What happened next is kind of a blur, but I'm pretty sure Paul yelled something along the lines of, "IT'S COMING FOR YOU!!!" and I took off running again. The snake ended up staying under the car, taunting me from a distance. After failing to convince me to come back, Paul ended up having to jump in the car and drive to pick me up, a half-mile down the road. 

Once we were back in Jacksonville, I hit the Google search and found out that 1) I was right. It WAS a rattlesnake, and 2) Rattlesnakes CAN lose their rattles. And we learned some valuable lessons that day:

I am always right. And, if need be, I can move pretty fast  :)

If you have an entertaining story about Paul, please email it to me at amy@paulfigura.com. Maybe over the next few days, while Paul is resting, we can post them here and have a good laugh. 

Thanks again so much for everything, everyone.  

-Amy

Feb. 24, 2014 Update, Morning

Just a quick update today to say thank you to everyone that has been bringing meals, donating to Paul's expense fund, and coming by to visit him. The doctors have asked that we slow the visiting down a bit, to give him time to heal over the next few days. He's so popular! You can certainly still come visit Nia, Nick, Taylor and the rest of his family, and keep them company over the next few days. I know from experience that it has been nice to have the company and to share memories of Paul with those closest to him, so please don't feel like you have to stay away completely. We will just have to admire him from afar. 

I am in the office today working to keep the business up and running while Paul takes a much needed nap, but please check back to the website later this evening, and I will be sure to post the progress he is showing in his exams. 

Please keep praying for Paul and sending the love his way. 

-Amy