Coping with Loss of Wife,Best Friend and Soul Mate

Hi, 

I have been with my beautiful wife for 30 years, and we have 3 beautiful teenage daughters.

My wife has been fighting breast cancer since 2009, with numerous Chemotherapies, natural rememdies, surgery and radiotheraphy - after 4/5 years she was in reammission, and then 9 months later in 2015 it came back harder and faster - she has daily lung drains, and was put on various chemotheraphy drugs and in April 2017 she was deemed stage 4 as it had spread to her spine, liver, kidney, both breasts, neck etc - We thought the worse.

I took 9 months off from work to care for my wife, and in that time I studied Chemotherapy treatments, wrote to Pharmecetical firms, and went through weekly blood results in order to do anything I could to save my beloved wifes life.

With my research I was also able to push the Oncologists and talk to them on a 1-2-1 level (even my wife said it was like 2 Oncologists where in the room !) - and I was the one who discovered why my wife had rejected the Chemotherapy in the first place due to her Albumin levels where very low.

Armed with Blood results every week, checking white cells, B12, Albumin I was able to tailor my wifes diet and she was able to have the chemotheraphy week on week.

Working together we managed to keep her alive for another 9 months, however sadly it caught up with her and she died in December 2017 just after Christmas.

Althought this is still very raw, I miss her every day, and have 3-4 breakdowns a day, constant crying, longing, and yearning for my wife - I wear her perfume and jewellery and still sleep with her dressing gown and have kept the house exactly as she left it so ther are no changes "when she returns home"

In 30 years we were together, we were only away from each other for 2 weeks, and we were more than Husband and Wife, she was my soul mate, best friend, we were a unit, we held hands, told each other we loved each other everyday, and I wanted no one else - she was my everything and the only thing in my life I was ever afraid of losing.

I still cry in pain that this could happen to someone so beautiful, and I have had the phases of grief doubt, and anger.

I hate the cliches, "be strong for the children" but how can I when I am not strong for myself, and the girls are teenagers, they are in their rooms talking to their friends, or boyfriends, and I am left on my own - the girls will grow up and I will walk the rest of my time on this earth without my beloved.

I particularly like the "it will get better after the funeral" this I can tell you is ********* ! it has got worse - I have more crying breakdowns, even when I go to places that me and my wife visited I hyper ventilate and freeze on the spot.

Yes I have couselling, but everyday the pain intesifies as does the emptiness and hollowness inside.

I am told I did all I could for my beautiful wife, and I would give everything I own just to have her back with me again.

I wanted to share my story, with others and I read a statistic once that said "75 men a day under the age of 50 are made widowers" and now I am in that statistic.

I am finding it hard to cope everyday, and it feels like my head is caving in with all the tears and emotions - I assume I am not alone

Simon 

Parents
  • Hi I lost my beautiful wife on the 3rd of may 2019 ,not to cancer but to diabetes related illnesses I dont know what to do ,I am lost and in so much pain ,I am searching for anything to help me deal with this feeling ,I know it has only been 3 weeks but I just dont know what to do with myself .my 23 year old son lives at home and has cerebral palsy so can't walk ,he misses his mum dearly and I try to stay up beat for him as much as I can but today is his birthday so it's been really hard ,I have been with my wife for 28 years and married 27 years she is my life ,every decision no matter how small has been through her for 28 years and now it's all up to me it is so hard .I woke up next to her on the 3rd of may 2019  and an hour later she was gone ,I cannot bare to try and comprehend what has happened this is so hard.how do I cope ? 

    Thanks 

    Simon (did not see your name was the same as mine until the end of your post )

  • Hi, 

    Sadly no one can give you a definitive answer on how to cope with your loss. My wife passed on 3rd March after being together 28yrs. Our 25th anniversary is in 10 days time and don't know how to deal with that. My daughter is 19 and her mom was her best friend so everyday I deal with my own loss and grief as well as take on her grief as well. It's hard but somehow you work through it. You know deep down its what your wife will want you to do. She knows you will be upset but she will want you to carry on and look after your son. For me I have decided to look for a static caravan somewhere as this is what my wife and I planned to do. I will have items of hers there and it will be a quiet place I go to. Again I know things like that are what she wanted me to do. Ending my life to be with her is not an option... I have people dependent on me and I will always honour my wife's last wishes but believe me its a thought that has been there. Sadly for me I now have been diagnosed with a heart valve defect and have all the worry of that to go through. In someway its good as it gives something else for my daughter to focus on (albeit bad news). We went yesterday and had tattoo's in memory of my wife using the ashes. We know that way a part of her will always be with us. I'm getting there slowly but if anyone says it gets easier.. It doesn't, you just learn to adapt and cope. 

     

    All the best Al

  • I have just been reading through all the messages and actually got some kind of comfort that I was not alone to go through all the heartfelt stories that have been told.

    My wife’s cancer was so very cruel and painful in the last month of her life (just 2 months ago), and I constantly keep thinking  how could I have tried harder to make her life better, before, and after the diagnosis.

    Colin

  • So sorry your not alone i think we all think we could have done more said or not said that .thing is if all these highly trained drs cant save our loved ones how can we ime sure you did your best thats all we can do guilts a funny thing it seems to go hand in glove with grief i can say this till ime blue in the face but you will work it out for yourself its the ruminating thats so difficult its braking that circle next time something pops in think of the good things you did every time do that .cancers not a person its a rotton disease we have no one to blame so we blame ourselves its quite simple i lost my partner just over a year ago and lost maney others its a long lonley road your on but you can make it eisier take walks in nature counciling joining a bereavement group talkings the best  . Keep away from alcohol ime so sorry your going through this theres no pain like it and its exhausting if your getting anxiouse go see your gp ttimes a great healer but only if you do something with it i whent out and did everything i could to get this pain away i i still suffer but not like i did eventualy you will work it but try your best not to blame yourself cancers to blame .p

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  • So sorry your not alone i think we all think we could have done more said or not said that .thing is if all these highly trained drs cant save our loved ones how can we ime sure you did your best thats all we can do guilts a funny thing it seems to go hand in glove with grief i can say this till ime blue in the face but you will work it out for yourself its the ruminating thats so difficult its braking that circle next time something pops in think of the good things you did every time do that .cancers not a person its a rotton disease we have no one to blame so we blame ourselves its quite simple i lost my partner just over a year ago and lost maney others its a long lonley road your on but you can make it eisier take walks in nature counciling joining a bereavement group talkings the best  . Keep away from alcohol ime so sorry your going through this theres no pain like it and its exhausting if your getting anxiouse go see your gp ttimes a great healer but only if you do something with it i whent out and did everything i could to get this pain away i i still suffer but not like i did eventualy you will work it but try your best not to blame yourself cancers to blame .p

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