I’ve just read a moving blog by Leigh Kendall who is mourning the loss of her baby son Hugo who died aged 35 days. It’s about loss and coping and will speak to many of us. It may also be helpful to our peer volunteer advocates who support older people affected by cancer who have experienced loss.
Leigh beautifully puts into words details of how she copes with loss and how people react to her situation.
She says:
how do I cope?
How do I cope when I live the life that should not be mine (or anyone’s for that matter).
Well, I just do.
I have little choice but to find a way to cope.
To get up in the morning, to live.
To find a way to survive, to thrive, to explore the opportunities the world has to offer.
Yes there are days when it feels like I cannot cope. When I want everything to go away and to go back to the way it should be.
Leigh Kendall
Anyone who has suffered loss will know these feelings. Life goes on as normal for everyone else when our own lives have changed inexorably. We all cope differently, our strategies are different but we’re simply trying to survive.
You can read Leigh’s blog and her other posts by clicking here
Marie McWilliams, OPAAL
Older People Living with Cancer 