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 

  • I am in Essex but WAY really helped me - www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/

    And everyone things its a club where you al sit round and mop, but its not its a great organisation, and meet up, etc but the support is brilliant do you have facebook because most of hte stuff is through there and its 24x7 support - let me ask if anyone knows the Southampton rep and I will give details so you can reach out...

     

  • Thank you that sounds like it will help me  I will try it I'll try anything just feels weird everyone talking about their loved ones and we all want them back but we can't get them back but talking to people who understand like people on this chat line I can completely understand that helps a lot 

  • Does this ever get any easier mate I'm having such a hard time all I wanna do is be with her but all I wanna do is look after my children at the same time but I can't take much more of this pain the Greek monster is horrible!I keep thinking I bet she was so scared before she died and she kept on telling me how much you love me there's no way she wanted to die and leave us all behind

  • I know how you feel Chris. , I would love to tell you it gets easier, but I miss my wife as much now as I did at the beginning, and think about her all the time. 

  • I just completely fall apart it's like when the grief monster is on me I feel tiny and can't control it I'm being told thing like did she suffer? I bet she was so scared? All I did was stand there and watch it happen what sort of husband is that!? I hundred percent believe there is no way she wanted to leave us not me and my two boys! When I get a bit of comfort and she was smiling when she died like maybe she saw some loved ones up in heaven and that's where the Comfort ends! The rest of me wants to be with her can't wait to be by her side again it's the only time I felt truly loved when I was with her! Yes he's left me with two beautiful children and they love me too and I know my wife wants me to bring them up and to make them just like there mum strong kind and loving with a big heart! I just can't seem to stop crying 

  • Your right the children are your concen now, I went through the same emotions about not being here and wanting to be with her, but at the end of the day I have to think about the children and her ! yes her ! because the children need guidance and their dad, and I always thought if I did turn up in heaven earlier then she would only have a go and say "whose going to look after the children now !" - they are your main concern, but it doesnt mean you cannot grieve - at the moment you will be going through a whole host of emotions from anger, to despair - you will feel immortal as no other pain can compare, you feel like the comic book character wolverine saying "come on life give it your best shot..." and nothing will hurt like this - you'lll get all these speeches like "anything I can do" or "time is a healer" or the classic "things happen for a reason" they don't - in your mind right now nothing makes sense, and if anyone says "it happens for a reason" you question what reason ??
    I have had those emotions, and even today 3 years on still have some of them day to day - but it really is like waves grief - some days I am sitting down happy then a song comes on and BAM - 
    Like I said WAY is a really good organisation and there is a Facebook page/group in Southampton, these are people who have been through the same thing as you are going through - I joined WAY, and a guy I have worked with for 3 years, sits next section to me said "Are you in WAY ? "and I said yeah and he said so am I ! my wife died and left me with 4 children - so you see you will make those bonds.
    This is a phase of how your feeling all these emotions, the children are your priority BUT that doesn't mean you cannot grieve....
    The time is a healer quote is rubbish, it does not get better BUT it gets lighter enough for you to cope - if you get a moment - watch the first series of Ricky Gervais "Afterlife" - because I directed my friends towards that and that is exactly how you/me are feeling right now.....
     

  • Chris,

    Don't worry let it all out, I still cry, I cried last night when I thought about her and I am 3 years in.
    It also didin't help I watched that Ester Ranztham thing ! gulp Stay strong.

  • Agree - the "time is a healer" speech gets on my wick, I think what it does it gets "lighter" the pain is still there, but its a pain which you choose to work through - its like a pain in your foot, you know its there, but you try and get on with day to day life, but know its never going to go away 

  • I've had a good ish day today oh my wife friend s are helping me so much  sounds strange but I love them all there so kind 

  • Hi ,

    Just read some post and I havent heard of Way, is it just based in the south? It sounds good, im 8 months into losing my husband and would love to join groups where you can talk to people in same situation think it helps alot.

    Take care