Thanks, Hops. Very, very sad. I found myself wanting to know more about the friend who gave up everything to be with the couple while the wife was dying...
Sadly, love and grief go hand in hand. We had Thanksgiving dinner at my stepson, David’s with his wife, Amy, and 3 children (boy, boy, girl—15, 11, and 8 ). They invited long time dear friends (husband, wife, and 17 year old daughter, 15 year old son) from their community over for dessert. I got a chance to talk to the husband one on one for the first time—he told me about his life, working at John Hancock Insurance in South Boston, bicycling 30 miles a couple days before, his daughter wanting to be an emergency room doctor, his son’s athletic activities. Then we left to drive home (50 minutes away) to take care of Beau/Bowie (our 10 year old Golden Retriever). About 2 hours after we left, we got a call from David. He and the husband had gone out to play basketball with the boys after we left, and when they came back in, the husband suddenly leaned forward, leaned backwards, then fell to the floor of my stepson’s kitchen. David, a vice-principal at one of the local schools and well-trained, heroically did CPR while both families watched. The ambulance came 12 minutes later, but the husband, 51—and only 2 years older than my stepson—was pronounced dead at the local hospital.
This dear family’s life suddenly collapsed in the midst of a lovely Thanksgiving, and they are left to pick up the pieces…
Richard
