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READ MOREPublished on May 12, 2020 in Share Your Story
My wife, Paula, was my Angel on earth from the time we met at college until her death in July 2019. Through her exceptional capacity to love and generosity of spirit she shared with family and friends, Paula made a positive difference in many lives. Like so many others, she definitely did not deserve to experience the ravages brought on by this disease.
I shared daily in the debilitating effects she endured through surgery, multiple drug regimens, and radiation treatments. As her caregiver, I learned that listening more than speaking to every thought or expression of anger was what I could do best to support her. In short, we actively attempted to share in and enjoy every second of our Love story possible. As all of us know, attempting to push out the thoughts of “the End” is a herculean task at best, but enjoying every moment with the Loves of our Lives mitigates to a large degree the pain that we experience. Paula had the heart of a Servant, and lived every moment she had on this earth demonstrating that to us all. She viewed life positively and coined the phrase “It’s All Good” to help us all accept the fact that no matter what happened as a result of having the brain cancer, she was a winner! This fact alone has served to buoy the spirits of our three children and myself in her absence.
We must never lose our drive to honor the memory of our loved ones. Seeking appropriation of adequate funding to support ongoing medical research in finding a cure is non-negotiable; it’s imperative. Impressing upon our elected officials through sharing the very personal loss we incurred is vital and the reason we express our strong desire to see that Medical Research personnel have the ability and resources to optimize research efforts into finding a cure for brain cancers. Great will be the day when we can collectively smile and say “We did it! Through our efforts and concern for the welfare of all, we conquered Brain Cancers!”
Opinions expressed within this story belong solely to the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of the National Brain Tumor Society.