Les McCarroll

"Although Sue and I understood the strong likelihood that she would die before me given that her body was a host of an "oncogene" (Sue's word) and cancer would likely return and be the cause of her death, neither of us let that limit or prevent anything that provided happiness for us or for others. Our thirty years were filled with love, laughter and tears of joy. Occasional bumps along the road (chemo, radiation, etc.) but nothing to veer us off our amazing journey of life together. Until the morning in the hospital when the doctor told me that Sue's lungs would not recover and I knew that I had to let her go. With one last "I love you, Sue" and the removal of the oxygen tube Sue died and I began my solitary journey along a pathway of grief that included an indescribable depth of pain and sadness as well as an unexpected level of compassion and support from many others who also loved Sue. Following Sue's death I have chosen to give back in many ways as thanks for all that I have been given. Supporting and helping others who are traveling their own pathway of grief provides much of my life purpose that was lost when Sue died and will, I suspect, continue until I walk again with Sue.

Articles:

Tasks of Grief

Some things in life just go together like the dropped ice cream on the ground and a toddler’s cry or a young son’s first goodbye and a mother’s tears. When the first one occurs, it is followed by the second. It is more than an expectation, more than most of the time. It actually “comes with the territory” of dropped ice cream or a son’s good-bye. In a similar fashion, tasks of life are things that are more than expectations. They are things that “come with the territory”: autumn will come each year and leaves will be raked, the dryer […]

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