Posted on 11/24/2014 10:58:34 AM PST by wagglebee
Aaron and Nora met in 2010 and like most people who fall in love, they were head over heels for each other. The next year, Aaron suffered a seizure at work which led to a very grim diagnosis: stage four brain cancer.
Although a large portion of the tumor was a Grade 2, which is usually classified as benign, a portion of it was Grade 4 glioblastoma—the same kind of cancer as Brittany Maynard.
However, despite his illness, their lives went on. Aaron and Nora wed, they had a baby and spent endless time together. For a while his health was looking better, but in 2013 tumors reappeared and his health quickly took a turn for the worse. And according to Nora, now they are approaching the end of their road. She said, “I want to be clear as a bell with everyone: he is dying.”
Nora explains on her blog, My Husbands Tumor, more about their journey with cancer.
She writes, “Because of his grace, we were able to spend the past three years not just being alive, but living. We still went to work and paid our bills. We raised our son and cooked dinner (okay, we ordered in). We worked on our house and watched a ton of movies. We traveled, we went to shows (so many shows). We had a child and lost a child and buried my father, together.” She also says their story isn’t a cancer story; instead “it’s a love story, with some cancer.”
Currently, their family is doing their best to prepare for the days to come and doctors are talking about hospice care. Nora is preparing to plan a funeral and raise her son, Ralph, alone. But as painful as their days are, she is still giving updates on Aaron and praising him for his courage.
She writes, “Everyone wants to see him. I get it. I do. And if it were really my choice I’d be like oh yeah, come on in, say good bye! But, he just doesn’t want to. It didn’t really make sense to me at first, but now I get it. No matter how many people may surround you, death is a solitary journey. In the past few days, I have seen the man who has walked beside me for four years slowly drift onto his own path, where I cannot follow. I know, though, that when it is my turn, I’ll recognize the footprints he left for me, and I won’t feel alone and I won’t feel afraid.
Aaron is not afraid.
The end of life is important, but if you have lived well, it is no more or less important than the beginning of your life, or the middle.”
To learn more about Aaron and Nora’s story watch the video below.
I like these people!! I didn’t speak out against Brittany Maynard’s decision, but I like this man’s (and his wife’s) decisions and words so much better.
I’m sorry hon. I’m just so sorry.
It clearly refers to prayer, not faith.
Oh honey. I’m just so sorry, but I’m thankful you had those 8 months. I wish I was there to give you a big hug and listen to stories you could tell. They’d make us both cry, but we’d also smile.
Hi BB,
Murphy’s Law! The devotional from “Our Daily Bread” that is usually posted every morning on FR isn’t there right now.
But here is a direct link to the Our Daily Bread website, whereby you can access the devotional yourself, any time you care to.
www.odb.org
The devotional on that page this morning is exactly the same as today’s page in my Our Daily Bread devotional booklet. So if you access that page every morning you’ll be right up to speed.
Blessings.
Tommy Tucker
Thank you. I don’t visit the Daily Bread website regularly. Just once in a while. I’ve always thought there should be a daily thread for it here, but I’m too undependable to run a daily thread. It’s all I can do to take care of my husband and pets. Some of the house plants are surviving, but beyond that, I can’t be relied on. ;) Still, when I have a little time, I’d like to pop into a Daily Bread thread, and see what my fellow FReepers have to say about it.
The next time I see it on FR I’ll rattle your chain. O.K.?
There are some humorous sayings here in Pennsyltucky illustrating how the PA Dutch (Amish) innocently butcher the English language. One of those sayings sounds a lot like how you described your life....
“The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” ;oD
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