A Phone Call To Heaven

It’s been a full year today (June 13, 2025) at this very moment since I found out my friend, Taylor Blanton, passed away.

Has it felt like a year? Yeah, it has.

It’s been an interesting experience, to say the least. Prior to June 13 of last year, I had never lost a close friend to death. I had lost classmates and acquaintances over the years, but nothing on the level of losing someone who was truly a friend.

To be completely transparent, I wasn’t sure if I was going to post something publicly today. Topics like this are very personal to me, and I usually keep them private. But I know Taylor’s story, and I want to honor my friend today because I miss him.

You may not know who Taylor was or what his story looked like, and that’s okay. Let me tell you about him.

Taylor was diagnosed with intimal sarcoma of the heart in December 2022. We had become friends before his diagnosis, and over time he became someone I was very close to. We shared a similar faith background, and he helped me process my mom’s cancer diagnosis in May of 2022.

His battle began in the Fall of 2022 when he started experiencing a rapid heart rate. I remember talking with him about what he was feeling. By December, he underwent open-heart surgery to remove tumors from his heart and determine whether they were cancerous. Unfortunately, they were.

What followed was one of the longest and hardest battles anyone could face. Yet through it all, Taylor fought with incredible courage, faith, and perseverance. He also had and has an amazing community in Woodbury, Tennessee, surrounding him and his family every step of the way.

Over the course of nearly three years, Taylor endured more than most people could imagine: brain tumors, strokes, broken bones, chemotherapy, radiation, and countless other challenges. I know there were times he was exhausted, but I also know that God carried him through every season.

God performed so many small miracles along the way.

I’ve mentioned before that Brandon Lake released his King of Hearts album on the day Taylor passed away. Looking back, it felt like one of those moments where God was quietly present in the middle of heartbreak. When I first started listening to the album that morning, I didn’t yet know Taylor had passed. His mom texted me later that morning letting me know that Taylor had passed.

One of the songs on the album is called Remember the Miracles, and every time I hear it, I think about Taylor.

I think about all the things God brought him through. I think about all the moments where statistics said one thing, but Taylor was still here. His prognosis was never encouraging and seemed impossible, but yet God continued to sustain him in ways that felt miraculous and kept him alive longer than his original diagnosis. Every extra day, and every moment he got to spend with family and friends felt like a gift.

Do I understand why Taylor had to go through that battle or why he passed away?

No.

Truthfully, the day he died, I was heartbroken, dealing with grief after I found out, and dealt with some anger.

Grief rang extra loud.

Grief is like a million pieces of glitter exploding across a room. Even a year later, it still feels like I’m finding pieces in places I didn’t know they could reach.

There are parts of our friendship I wish I had done better. There are moments I wish I could go back and relive to experience it again. I was angry with God at times because I prayed so many prayers for complete healing on this side of Heaven, and it didn’t happen.

Ultimately, I’ve come to a place of trusting that God knew what He was doing when He called Taylor home, even when I don’t understand it.

But if I’m being honest, it still hurts somedays. It hurts when there’s a certain song that comes on. It hurts when I look back at old conversations. It hurts when I realize I haven’t had a chance to go down to Woodbury yet and visit.

Taylor was the kind of person who deserved every good thing life had to offer. His parents deserved more years with their son. His friends deserved more years with their friend. The world felt better with him in it.

Unfortunately, as mentioned I still haven’t had the opportunity to travel to his hometown and pay my respects in person, but I hope I can someday. Getting to see how his community came around him and his family during the battle of Taylor’s life was very touching and it warmed my heart.

The way people continue to love and support his family is a beautiful reflection of the life he lived. I hope one day I’ll have the opportunity to meet more of the people who knew him and loved him and to personally pay my respects.

Over the past year, I’ve often listened to a song by Emmy Russell and Tyler Ward called Phone Call to Heaven. It has made me wonder what I would say if I had one phone call with Taylor a year later.

So with that, that’s how I’m going to close this blog.

If I had one phone call to heaven and could talk to Taylor again, this is what I would say.

Enjoy.

“Hey Taylor!

It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole year since you passed. You would not believe all that has happened in a year. Sure, I am only making this observation from Colorado, but your family has been holding strong as much as they can. There’s a lot of heart ache and heart break around your family and friends because we miss you. We all really miss you and the void of your presence on this side of Heaven is felt. I’ve been trying to take up new hobbies this year. One of the hobbies/general things I’ve been trying to do is getting into working out. Prior to your passing, I hadn’t really cared much about working out. After you passed though, it really inspired me to get my health together because I am getting to realize that moving and being alive is a gift, and you taught me that living is a gift. I sure miss you. I wish I had gotten down to Woodbury to visit prior to your passing, but I will make it down to visit and pay my respects here shortly in coming time to honor your legacy. Oh! Forgot to mention, your parents and community and close friends threw an awesome 5K for you in your legacy! That was super cool to see and be a part of from Colorado! Yes, haha I partook from Colorado. I ain’t not participating in something like that haha. On a serious note though, I am so glad you got to see those Golden Gates we talked about again. Your description of what Heaven was like from that brief period gave me so much peace and hope to experience it someday when it’s my time to get there. I hope you can also show me around and give me a good tour of Heaven when it’s my time, haha. It’s gonna be all so new. Until then though, I promise to keep writing my story. I promise to keep making it a good one that someday I can share with you of what happened in my life down here on Earth. I promise that I’ll keep reflecting on the good moments and promise to keep in touch with your folks over the course of time as it continues on. I have a feeling that is what you’d like for me to do, so I will do that in your honor. And to end it the way I always ended our conversations over text, I love ya lots my friend. So glad God has you in the palm of His hands now. You are made whole and you are Healed which is the answer to my prayer I prayed for you down here. Also, I hope God says Hi to you like I ask in my prayers, haha. See ya someday my friend. Miss you.”

If you would like to read Taylor’s story and learn more about his thoughts, please visit: https://nurseturnedpatient8.com