Whew. It is now November 24, 2013. Long time since my last post. I was not able to write before this, but now I think I owe this blog an update!
May 6, 2013 was a fateful day. Our dear father, dad, husband, friend, grandpa, Papa, neighbor, buddy, Gunnabe Cowboy and the love of my life....met his Maker. Tom died at Lakeland Hospital. His fight was gallant. His determination was strong. He almost made it! I thought he would. But, his blood counts were nil, the bone marrow transplant was not kicking in very quickly, and a nasty E Coli infection caused his demise. In one long day, he came down with a horrible fever, was taken to ER, given everything known to try to help him, but E Coli won the fight.
It has been a long spring and summer and fall. As we are about to embrace the Holiday season, I cannot help but think back on last year, when we were released from the Rehab Institute of Chicago where they had helped Tom rehabilitate after his bout with the transplant at University of Chicago. He had lost 80#, was not able to eat, could not walk or transfer. Still he was besieged with diarrhea from Graft Versus Host Disease, a consequence of the transplanted stem cells. He was so happy to go home to his own home, bed, recliner, TV. We thought we had made it....we thought we were good! But we had many more returns to the hospital. I think back on how happy he was to have family, grandchildren, friends here. He loved people...his people. I wish I could time travel back a year.....!
I will continue to pound the keys here. It is therapeutic. I finally could write this without crying....it has been a long 7 months since I lost my best friend. I am learning how to live each day.....because he would want me to!
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