5.17.10

The story does not have a happy ending.
Somehow, despite all evidence to the contrary, I thought Rob would make it to summer so he could follow the kids to the pool and enjoy one more round of Friday night cocktails with neighbors and friends. He had been stable for so long, I ignored the signs and chose to listen to his "fighting words"....telling Dr. Barohn on Saturday that he had months left to live, and that he would start making calls on Monday to keep things moving on the HART project.
But lately he was having more trouble breathing and could only speak in whispers, and he had begun to ask the hard questions of nurse Holly. I should have known better, but denial is a powerful thing and I really thought that if we took good care of him, made sure he got plenty of rest and didn't "overdo it", he would be fine. Of course that is not the case. Rob passed away on Monday, May 17th - very peacefully, with Bob, Pat, Holly Carol and I by his side. He was not in pain, and thankfully, did not experience the drowning sensation he feared ever since his bout of pneumonia. He slipped away gracefully, a champion to the end, leaving the rest of us to wonder how we will ever live without him.