Waymon Campbell
09-18-2005, 10:02 PM
Well it sure is nice to be back to the 'Creek after a more than six month absence. As some of you know I lost my mother in January. A week after that my younger sister Cyndi was diagnosed with a very rare cancer. So, I closed up shop and have been spending all my spare time at the hospital. As a family we decided that Cyndi would not spend one moment alone during her ordeal. So, we have been rotating shifts at the hospital these last six months.
Two months ago we all sat in a room at one of the premier cancer treatment hospital's in the world (M.D.Anderson in Houston) and were told that there was no possibility of survival. To those of you who have been in the same spot you can understand when I tell you that it felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room.
Cyndi died on August 4th of a cancer whose name I cannot pronounce. She left behind a 17 year old daughter and a loving family. The last two months of her life were lived in terrible pain. She taught me a lot in those two months. Grace, dignity and caring are not words I use often, but they describe Cyndi precisely. Despite being in terrible pain, all she thought of was others. She worried about the toll her illness had taken on the family, she made plans for her own funeral from the same bed she would die in, she prayed with each of us, she laughed and cried with us, she made sure that her daughter would have a place to stay after she was gone,
It's only natural to have regrets after you lose a loved one. I am remembering all the missed birthday parties and other occasions when I was "too busy" to attend. I have relived all the hurried family get togethers when it seemed the focus was to get it over with so we could get on with life's business. I remember all the phone calls not returned or cut short. I'd give anything to have another hour to talk with her.
To anyone who reads this that has a loved one battling a terrible sickness I pray God's blessing on you and them.
Two months ago we all sat in a room at one of the premier cancer treatment hospital's in the world (M.D.Anderson in Houston) and were told that there was no possibility of survival. To those of you who have been in the same spot you can understand when I tell you that it felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room.
Cyndi died on August 4th of a cancer whose name I cannot pronounce. She left behind a 17 year old daughter and a loving family. The last two months of her life were lived in terrible pain. She taught me a lot in those two months. Grace, dignity and caring are not words I use often, but they describe Cyndi precisely. Despite being in terrible pain, all she thought of was others. She worried about the toll her illness had taken on the family, she made plans for her own funeral from the same bed she would die in, she prayed with each of us, she laughed and cried with us, she made sure that her daughter would have a place to stay after she was gone,
It's only natural to have regrets after you lose a loved one. I am remembering all the missed birthday parties and other occasions when I was "too busy" to attend. I have relived all the hurried family get togethers when it seemed the focus was to get it over with so we could get on with life's business. I remember all the phone calls not returned or cut short. I'd give anything to have another hour to talk with her.
To anyone who reads this that has a loved one battling a terrible sickness I pray God's blessing on you and them.