“My anxiety hit a fever pitch. Yesterday, my child was happily climbing on rocks and pretending to be a cat with her friend by the water. I couldn’t shake the feeling something bad was going to happen. I was shaking out of my skin.”
‘I still reach for him in bed. I still think I hear him coming in from work. I have to force myself to live.’: Widow suffering from PTSD says, ‘I can hear him telling me to get back up and fight’
‘I cooked three meals a day. The house was clean. My husband came in the door knowing he was getting a home-cooked meal.’: Widow urges ‘nothing is promised’ after husband’s battle with colorectal cancer
“We knew it was coming. He was tired. His body had fought so hard. I craved the routine. In the end, all we had was love. There was no schedule, no bill due, no job that was more important than that. Nothing I could’ve done was going to change the outcome.”
‘My dad killed himself, didn’t he? That’s why you cried so much when I was a baby?’: Mom doesn’t let labels define her, ‘I am more than just an amputee or widow’
“I still remember that day. The taste of blood and dirt in my mouth. Later, when I sat up in the hospital bed and felt the missing weight of my right arm, I looked over and saw nothing but a stump wrapped in bandages. It was the most horrific thing I’d seen in my 10 short years. But life moves on, and I slowly gained a sense of new purpose. There was more to me than just one label.”
‘Hang tight. He is on his way, and is beyond your wildest dreams.’ A week later, I met the man who would be my fiancé.’: Widow embraces love after loss after late husband dies tragically in ‘mock robbery’
“‘I’m sorry to say this, but your husband died tonight,’ the police officer said. The store was filled with gun powder. I looked across the room to find a pool of blood. Brian was 30 years old. We’d just gotten married only 86 days before. He didn’t realize the gun was fully loaded and shot him in the face.”
‘My husband wanted to take his motorcycle. He gave me a kiss and walked out the door. At 11:59 a.m. I got the call that changed my life. The nurse said, ‘Are you his wife? Meet me at the hospital.’
“I didn’t have a car seat for my nephew. I couldn’t leave. I called everyone I knew. My sister came home and said, ‘You need to go NOW.’ When I arrived, I saw a security guard outside the front doors of the ER. I walked up. My head was spinning.”
‘Oh, God. This has to be a dream. Not MY Mick.’ They were only going to the race track. A 3-hour drive from home. Their horse was racing, and then they were supposed to come back.’
“Then it dawned on me. Is this what Mick meant when he said to me, ‘Under no circumstances can I change my plans on Saturday and take Chloe to basketball.’ I can’t believe I never questioned him on that; it was very unusual for him not to go and watch her play.”
