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
  • Simon I lost my wife five months ago. I’m 38 we were together 17 years and got married in 2011. She was diagnosed on the 11th October 2018 and passed on the 6th March 2019. Six months of watching someone who had never abused their body completely fall to pieces. I cared for her every day and the days spent in hospital I has by her side. We did it alone, she couldn’t face people we knew seeing her demise so I had to grit my teeth and give her my best. She truly understood how much I loved her by how she was cared for, night and day. 

    I am completely broken. I face people no problem and I know I present as the strong individual they think I am. I sit in our home, the home we worked so hard to own, i look around and everything but her is here. Pictures of her riding her horse consume the room.  I don’t even know who I am anymore. The help people offer is non existent and who else is In my situation to talk to so I literally live with something nobody understands.  

    Im thinking of just selling our home and moving down south where nobody knows me and I can get on with this disaster. You will know who you’re friends and family are now. I am truly sorry for you’re loss, I’m living the same bad dream. 

  • Hello ba01,

    I fully understand what you are feeling at the moment. There isn't any real help out there and you probably are having to take all this on your own, or it feels that way. It is so devastating trying to cope and it is hard to think of life in the future. I am in a similar situation and wife died in June 2018. It is a feeling like that you have ever felt before or imagined.

    I hope you can somehow get through this grief a day at a time even though you might not feel this at this time. I know exactly what you mean about looking at pictures around your house, you want to look at them but you know it's going to upset you. I can't really give you any advice because I am in the same position. I always say to myself that Lesley wouldn't want me to be constantly upset. 

    I know it's easy said than done but try and get through this and remember that the pain you feel is the love you had for wife. Take care and try and stay strong.

Reply
  • Hello ba01,

    I fully understand what you are feeling at the moment. There isn't any real help out there and you probably are having to take all this on your own, or it feels that way. It is so devastating trying to cope and it is hard to think of life in the future. I am in a similar situation and wife died in June 2018. It is a feeling like that you have ever felt before or imagined.

    I hope you can somehow get through this grief a day at a time even though you might not feel this at this time. I know exactly what you mean about looking at pictures around your house, you want to look at them but you know it's going to upset you. I can't really give you any advice because I am in the same position. I always say to myself that Lesley wouldn't want me to be constantly upset. 

    I know it's easy said than done but try and get through this and remember that the pain you feel is the love you had for wife. Take care and try and stay strong.

Children
  • So sorry for loss  I feel the same lost my Penny ️ to met Breast Cancer on 6th November 2019 just 3weeks after being diagnosed. Penny ️ was being treated by GP for Sciatica for a due months before. This after last Christmas I was diagnosed with Prostate cancer had Radiotherapy in June/July . It feels like there is no point in living anymore we where married for 48 wonderful years  Penny ️ helped me without knowing her own condition . It feels like I didn't help her.  Just cry every day miss her so much I feel grief anger and totally lost  just want to lay in bed hoping I will feel her by my side just asking myself how this has happened Penny ️ was 67 Years old when she passed away. I thought we would have had a good ten years more together. Her mum was 88 when she passed away. That was 17 years ago. Her anniversary was just after  Penny ️ passing away .  Her dad was only 69 when he passed away. Penny ️ always said she would not live as long as her dad I always said don't be silly  Peñny ️ was right .  Life has become unbearable I never see anybody just don't what to be here anymore