Insert here a beautifully written, elegiac post for my dear friend Andrea, who has battled brain cancer for four+ years. No one ever knows for sure, but she seems to be entering the home stretch. All of us who love her are torn between wanting her to stay and being ready for her sake for her long, torturous battle to be over. I tried to write a post that would do justice to her wicked sense of humor, her insanely detailed-oriented competence at every thing she did, her aliveness. But there are no words. Everything I tried came out maudlin, which she would hate.
She can't really speak anymore but she's still Andrea, she's still in there, inside her battered body. But I don't think she will be much longer. I sat with her for a couple of hours this afternoon. When I arrived I thought I was doing it for her, but it turned out the gift was for me. She is radiating herself. Sorry I can't explain it any better than that.
Pass gently, my dear friend.
5 comments:
I am so very sorry, Barb. No words, just so very sorry.
That is so well said. Thank you, Barb, for being there. To know her friends are there with her helps those of us who can't be by her side.
xxoo
Barb,
Thank you for your kind words about my cousin. I wish I could be up there to help out but comforted that she has such great friends there to help the family out.
Extra big hugs to Tracy (Andrea's sister) and Karen (cousin). I don't mean to make it sound like I'm the only one or even the main one who is spending time with Andrea-- she has many friends, some of whom have been around much more than I have. I don't think she's spent much time alone in the past few weeks! But I am deeply grateful for the time I've been able to be there.
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