Friday, January 26, 2007

How did he feel?

My husband went to a memorial service for one of his friends last night. I didn't accompany him. Dave was 52 years old and knew he had brain cancer over a year ago. I've only met him a few times during our big annual dinner banquets and we've only exchanged "hi's" and "hello's".

Yesterday, there was a big article about his life in our local newspaper. It mentioned he recently married his long-time girlfriend and has been traveling the world in hopes of seeing all the 7 wonders of the world.

What goes through a person's mind when they know they only have a limited time to live? Does traveling to all the corners of the world have the same meaning as those who don't have a terminal disease?

- AV

4 comments:

Nick said...

First, there are a rush of questions. How is my family going to survive without me? Will my death be an excuse for my three small children not to thrive in the world...will they try to use it as an excuse for failure? Will my wife's broken heart keep her from ever loving again? Will my children feel betrayed by me when I die? How will my mom, dad, and grandmother cope? Have I lived a life well enough that I leave a legacy? Will my 6 and 7 year old even remember me?
Can my wife manage to keep the house? How does she keep her sanity when she has to parent and raise three kids completely by herself? Who is there to comfort her when she has a bad day? Who will hold her..who will make her laugh? How will she find the time to keep my kids in soccer, gymnastics, and karate? When will she have time to mourn me?
In 2-3 months, these questions will start getting answered. Since my diagnosis with GBM 4 early last year, these are the only questions that matter.

AVCr8teur said...

Nick,

Thank you for posting during this difficult time in your life. I am very sorry to hear about your diagnosis and can't imagine what you and your family are going through at this time.

I hope you will find comfort in your answers. You are in my thoughts.

- AV

Nick said...

Thanks, A.V. Sometimes it just feels good to let it all out. Take care.

Anonymous said...

AV,
I was going to post something but after reading Nick's post I realized anything that I would or could of said is all stupid and meaning-less compared to the things he already said.

Nick,
I too am sorry to hear about your diagnosis. My thoughts are with you..

Hugs from a stranger in Ohio.