Eric Hill's sister Karen Tracy has opened up about what it's like to watch her brother on The Bachelorette since he passed away in April from a tragic paragliding accident.
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"[It's] a unique opportunity to watch him live on, and watch the world get to know him [every week]. In some ways, it's only fitting that he is defying death in this way. My brother always thought bigger and dreamed bigger than anyone I have ever known," Tracy told the Today show in a recent interview.
The Bachelorette producers stressed about how to deal with Hill's death during Andi Dorfman's season, but they decided to just edit the adventurer into the episodes as if nothing ever happened. Once Dorfman eliminated him, host Chris Harrison had a discussion with the show's star about Hill's memory. The entire tenth season is also dedicated to Hill.
"At the time of his death, he was absorbed in a project to document his travels to every country in the world. He called it The Global Odyssey, and he had been to 51 countries for the project so far, although he had traveled to more than a hundred countries in his lifetime," she explained.
"People ask if it's difficult to watch him on the show, and I do get a little nervous until I see the handsome brother that I know and love, [but] my family -- my parents and my four other brothers -- have all grown used to watching Eric onscreen. He always posted videos of his travels on his site and shared them with us on visits. We watched him ride camels in Egypt, go paragliding in Iceland and do handstands on the Great Wall."
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In fact, Tracy told Today she's grateful to be able to watch one of her brother's final adventures on television.
"I don't own a TV, so I watch The Bachelorette with a good friend. I get a little tearful," she admitted, "but I know Eric would want his audience to enjoy the journey with him, and seeing him makes me smile."
When Hill was alive, Tracy apparently made a habit of worrying about her brother throughout his many explorations and travels. She sadly feared all the time that the last day of his life would come far too soon.
"With a brother who was always adventuring, I often worried about him, sometimes waking in the middle of the night to text, 'Hey Eric, are you okay?' He would send little notes back... My whole life, I had braced myself for a possible call bringing bad news. It came from my parents, who were on their way to visit me in Washington, D.C., when they heard about Eric's accident," Tracy explained.
"My family and I rushed to the hospital, where Eric lay in a coma for two more days. I just wanted to keep him -- in any condition -- but I understood that we had to let him go. At least I got to spend those precious last hours with him, to hold his hand, stroke his hair and tell him how much I loved him for the last time. I know he could feel our love; it permeated the room."
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Tracy -- a wife and mother of three kids with a fourth child on the way -- said heaven felt very close at that point.
"We have a deep faith that we will see him again. Just before his accident, I had learned that I was pregnant with my fourth baby, and I like to think about how Eric will get to know my child before I will," Tracy said.
"A day after his passing, my family went to the site where Eric fell from the sky. We watched the paragliders soaring overhead and imagined Eric enjoying his last flight. We remembered a man who had lived his life to the absolute fullest. The world was just not big enough for him. In the weeks since, we have set up a philanthropic foundation in his honor, LiveLikeEric.com. And I'll be watching him in his alternate reality Monday night.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski