Post by KelleeM on Dec 31, 2022 14:09:55 GMT
I was getting ready to marry my sweet husband. We had been together for over 5 years and absolutely ready to spend forever together.
Four months into our marriage he fell off a roof while helping to power wash his brother’s house. He was flown to Boston where he had surgery and aspirated. He developed aspiration pneumonia and was in a medically induced coma for two weeks. Then he had another surgery, spent another 2 weeks in the hospital before being discharged to rehab where he was for another 2 weeks. Just after he came home I was diagnosed with stage 2b breast cancer. A month later I had surgery and in October I began chemotherapy. After that I had 38 rounds of radiation. He was with me through it all. His support and care (when I was struggling to even be human and was very cranky) carried me through.
In July 2016 we moved my daughter and granddaughter into our new condo with us. It was his idea. I was not happy about the idea but he insisted that Ally (dgd) needed the stability that we could provide. When Ally was almost 2 and my daughter started working full time he would not hear of her going to daycare. He spent over a year as her full time day care provider. He was 70 years old and had more energy than most people half his age!
During the summer of 2019 he started to not feel well. He had stomach pain and was tired. He saw his PCP several times. He had blood tests and stool cultures that showed nothing. In September his doctor referred him to a gastroenterologist but his appointment wasn’t until early November. Then on an early morning in October he asked me to take him to the hospital. He couldn’t get himself dressed and finally asked me to call an ambulance. He was brought to the ER and within two hours we were told that he had cancer and it was bad. He needed to be transferred to another hospital to have a bleed taken care of. Before they packed him up to take him he sat on the edge of the bed and asked me if he was ever going home.
He didn’t ever come home. He spent three days in the hospital. He was admitted to ICU and was never stable enough to have a biopsy. His cancer was in his stomach, pancreas, spleen and intestines that we know of. We never found out where it originated. He was 72 and had been a smoker for 60 years.
Early on a Friday morning I went to the hospital, where two of his sons had spent the night with him. He and I talked for a little while but he was suffering. Breathing was painful. He told me that he hoped he hadn’t disappointed me. And I told him that he hadn’t, not for a second. I held his hand as he died peacefully.
He was the absolute love of my life. He captured my heart when I was really just looking for someone to spend time with. Love wasn’t in my plans. He told me the first time that I met him that I had never met a guy like him before. No one has ever been more right about a statement!
I miss him so much. I miss the life we had together and the future we planned for. Nothing is the same and it never can be. Most of his family has drifted away and I miss them as well.
I’m living my life the best way I know how. He is in so many conversations in my head. He changed my life forever. He changed the lives of my daughter and granddaughter. He made such a difference in the world. He loved to make people smile or, better yet, laugh. Oh how we laughed. Yes, I miss him so very much.
Tonight I’ll have a glass of wine, or a bottle! and remember him and the amazing life we made together.
Thanks for reading. I wish everyone could experience great love, even if it’s just for a short time. Thanks for always being here for me. ❤️
Four months into our marriage he fell off a roof while helping to power wash his brother’s house. He was flown to Boston where he had surgery and aspirated. He developed aspiration pneumonia and was in a medically induced coma for two weeks. Then he had another surgery, spent another 2 weeks in the hospital before being discharged to rehab where he was for another 2 weeks. Just after he came home I was diagnosed with stage 2b breast cancer. A month later I had surgery and in October I began chemotherapy. After that I had 38 rounds of radiation. He was with me through it all. His support and care (when I was struggling to even be human and was very cranky) carried me through.
In July 2016 we moved my daughter and granddaughter into our new condo with us. It was his idea. I was not happy about the idea but he insisted that Ally (dgd) needed the stability that we could provide. When Ally was almost 2 and my daughter started working full time he would not hear of her going to daycare. He spent over a year as her full time day care provider. He was 70 years old and had more energy than most people half his age!
During the summer of 2019 he started to not feel well. He had stomach pain and was tired. He saw his PCP several times. He had blood tests and stool cultures that showed nothing. In September his doctor referred him to a gastroenterologist but his appointment wasn’t until early November. Then on an early morning in October he asked me to take him to the hospital. He couldn’t get himself dressed and finally asked me to call an ambulance. He was brought to the ER and within two hours we were told that he had cancer and it was bad. He needed to be transferred to another hospital to have a bleed taken care of. Before they packed him up to take him he sat on the edge of the bed and asked me if he was ever going home.
He didn’t ever come home. He spent three days in the hospital. He was admitted to ICU and was never stable enough to have a biopsy. His cancer was in his stomach, pancreas, spleen and intestines that we know of. We never found out where it originated. He was 72 and had been a smoker for 60 years.
Early on a Friday morning I went to the hospital, where two of his sons had spent the night with him. He and I talked for a little while but he was suffering. Breathing was painful. He told me that he hoped he hadn’t disappointed me. And I told him that he hadn’t, not for a second. I held his hand as he died peacefully.
He was the absolute love of my life. He captured my heart when I was really just looking for someone to spend time with. Love wasn’t in my plans. He told me the first time that I met him that I had never met a guy like him before. No one has ever been more right about a statement!
I miss him so much. I miss the life we had together and the future we planned for. Nothing is the same and it never can be. Most of his family has drifted away and I miss them as well.
I’m living my life the best way I know how. He is in so many conversations in my head. He changed my life forever. He changed the lives of my daughter and granddaughter. He made such a difference in the world. He loved to make people smile or, better yet, laugh. Oh how we laughed. Yes, I miss him so very much.
Tonight I’ll have a glass of wine, or a bottle! and remember him and the amazing life we made together.
Thanks for reading. I wish everyone could experience great love, even if it’s just for a short time. Thanks for always being here for me. ❤️