I’m having my sister post this. It will be the last entry into the blog. I’m gone, now, but what a wonderful time I
had! Oh sure, the last bits were not
much fun, but the great life I have had certainly counted for much more in the
scheme of things.
To my family: No
other people could have loved me, nor taken care of me with such grace of
spirit, nor such generosity and consideration.
I know it was hard on you; lots of times, harder on you than me. I can’t say don’t grieve, because that’s a
normal part of the process of dealing with loss, but as soon as you can, start
to laugh. Call Polly. She’ll make you laugh, and she’ll need to
laugh as well. I want you to remember
that I loved to laugh and I loved to smile, so do your best. J
I do not have to tell you how much I loved and will continue
to love each of you. I hope I showed you
this as I lived.
To my friends: The
support and love you all gave me through this most challenging of journeys was
astounding. You know, Facebook was a
good thing; I got to make sure that the people I cared about were kept in the
loop… a crappy loop, to be sure, but a loop nonetheless. Some days, your words of encouragement were
all that was between me and abysmal despair.
Your positivity fueled mine and just knowing you were there for me and
knowing how much you were rooting for me; well, that strengthened my resolve to
keep fighting.
But the fight is over, and as we all must, I have gone on to
continue the journey. Where the journey
progresses is anyone’s guess, but one thing of which I have continued to be
certain, there is nothing about which to be afraid.
Special thanks to all the people at Arizona Family Hospice;
I felt such love and caring from each of you as you made my transition fearless
and mostly painless. J
Dr. Fastenberg, my medical oncologist, thank you for always
being up-front about everything. You are one of the rare breed of caring
oncologists, and I adore you.
Dr. Ramaswamy, you treated me with compassion, intelligence
and great humor; and you know I love humor.
Best of all, both you and Dr. Fastenberg treated me as a fully-fledged,
intelligent member of the team, and for that I love you both.
And as I have exhorted you all in the past, when you love
someone let them know; when you find someone to be charming, let them know;
when someone does something that makes you happy, tell them. Share love, share happiness, share peace.
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