Deb
 

Life was good and we were enjoying every moment. Home life was good too, until the mid-nineties. Cancer attacked my wife. Following major surgery, she was given the all clear, but it returned in 1997. Complications happened and on June 26th 1997 at 10:30 am, I was told Deb had just hours to live. Less than twelve hours later, she passed in my arms. The last words she heard were, ‘I Love You’, dozens of times.

 

The shock shot through me, our boys and those close to Deb like a lightning strike. A daze of days followed, continuing into weeks of numbness and disarray. I had to learn to become a mum while still being a dad whose job was to write and draw humour, while mourning. At the same time, everyone wanted to help while all I wanted was some privacy. I was struggling behind being me and secretly drank very heavily, three or four bottles of wine a night at times. The only person I could pour out my heart to was gone. I felt lost.

January 1st 1963 - June 26th 1997