It's an insidious disease, taking her from me in small measures, stripping her of her abilities in small, but meaningful ways until in the last year there was a steady, rapid, and clear decline. She couldn't eat, had very little strength, and was bedridden for the last three months. Hospice nurses came once a week to check on us and health care workers came three times a week to help me keep her clean and comfortable, but I was her caregiver. I'm so grateful to have helped her through it all.
I spent most of my time since January laying beside her, holding her, talking with her, comforting her, crying with her, and talking about the wonderful times we shared during the last fifty years. Ours was a magical marriage. We were always on the same page and always working toward the same dreams. I've been blessed and privileged to have such an amazing wife for so long.
Being in love with Ann is by far the easiest thing I've ever done.
Caring for her during her illness was the most rewarding thing I've ever done.
Holding onto her during the last moments of her life was the hardest thing I've ever done.
I'm not sure how people survive losses such as this. It's so strange, so painful, and so real. I do have hope that there's a heaven and that we'll be together again, but I do not have a faith to sustain that hope. For me, it's more of a dream. The reality is that I'm alone now and missing her so much. I'm heartbroken and crying... I'm always crying.
This is photo of us in 1968 taken at her high school senior prom. I was a junior, just seventeen years old and so much in love. We were married in 1973. What a lucky man I have been! What a sad man I am today.
- Teenagers in Love... a love that would last fifty years.
- Senior Prom-May 4,1968.jpg (62.48 KiB) Viewed 2029 times
