A Day We Will Never Forget

A Day We Well Never Forget 

Five years ago on March 17, 2011 is a day we will never forget. My hubby and I had a few drapery installation jobs set up with our son-in-law. Our daughter called early morning and told us Eric wasn’t feeling good. He had been having bad stomach pains from an ulcer so I told her he should go to the doctor to get it checked. Eric never completed and always worked through his pain. After hubby and I completed the first installation I called Chris to see how Eric was feeling. She told me that he on his own decided he needed to go get the pain checked out and they were at the emergency room. We ran down to be with her in case they needed anything. I went in the exam room while they were waiting for results of the CT scan. The doctor came in and proceeded to tell us the results. He looked at Eric laying on the exam table, then at my daughter who was sitting on the chair next to where I was kneeling. He told us Eric had a massive tumor in his colon and needed surgery immediately. The room was silent as we were all in total shock and I tried to reach over to the sink to get wet paper towels to put on Chris’ head as the same time I was trying to hold her upright in the chair since she was about to pass out. I went out and told my hubby while the emergency room prepared Eric to be moved to a hospital room. The surgeon came in and explained things and scheduled surgery for early Saturday morning. Still all in shock, we were all there through his surgery. Unfortunately the tumor was cancerous and was also in his liver. Through chemo treatments and radiation, he beat cancer by the following January. But that was short lived and it returned in the spring of 2013. Eric was a fighter and he fought hard but he also continued to work through his treatments and pain. By the summer of 2014, Eric had taken a turn for the worse and was in the hospital more than he was home.

Our daughter never left his side, stayed with him round the clock, being a full time nurse and care giver. Eric came home from the hospital the end of August and on September 17, 2014, exactly three and one half years from being diagnosed and fighting so hard, cancer won the battle. Eric was more like a son to us, a wonderful husband and father to Chris’s children.

We have so many wonderful memories of the good times we had when we were on installations together or riding our bikes on trips.

Eric will live in our hearts forever and when we hear the thunder, we know he is riding his Harley in the heavens. How I wish a cure could be found for cancer so no one, patient or loved ones have to suffer through the pain. Eric lives forever in our hearts.