I lost my beloved husband after a relatively short battle with very aggressive cancer. After an operation to remove a kidney they discovered that his tumour had spread far more than they thought. He came home and I cared for him for nine weeks. I watched him deteriorate both mentally and physically and although there were times I felt I could no longer go on, I did. For the last 5 days of his life he went into a hospice where my children and I could visit, it was a wonderful place and the best thing for him. I was with him when he died peacefully but although I knew his death was imminent, nothing prepared me for the emptiness and deep pain I feel at his loss. We were married for 32 years and together for 35 and I loved him totally. Although like all couples we had our ups and downs our marriage was very happy and we were totally committed to each other. We did everything together and I now feel so desolate and the nearest to despair that I have ever felt. I have moments of sheer panic that I will never see or be with him again. I have many wonderful friends and my family who have been wonderful but they donāt fill the empty void that he has left. I used to look forward to the weekends but now I dread them and Bank holidays. I have never been on my own and I just donāt feel life will ever hold any joy again for me and I really donāt want to go on without my husband. I canāt think these feelings will ever go away. One of the awful places that I go to is that I focus on the negative things like arguments or rows we had years ago. There are so many positives to think about but I am consumed with guilt and sorrow that I said things I now regret as I would do anything to have him back. The times I could have cuddled him but didnāt, the times I was grumpy or depressed when now I think if I could only have him back, there would be nothing to be depressed about. I beat myself up continuously yet I know in my heart that I was a good wife, he said he could have had none better. I don;t understand why I am like this.
Hi there I lost my wife Jane last November heart failure due to kidney disease,we were married for 43 years and like you did everything and enjoyed life together.
I am on my own now no children,no real family and certainly no friends just me and my little dog so weekdays,weekends ,bank holidays all the same .
I miss the times whenever we had any problems her words would be donāt worry weāll sort it out or weāll get though this ,now it is me on my own left to sort them out a totally different life to the one we always led.
We to always had our rows and disagreements many a bad word in haste but we always pulled together things said and forgotten.
I feel guilty on many accounts working long hours,as she said she was feeling lonely as I do now .
Guilty from the fact they would not consider me as a kidney donor for her due to ill health,age and compatibility.
Guilty for being 5 minutes late when she passed away followed the ambulance in car thinking she was to be admitted due to her health problems .
I too wake each morning thinking how can I go on without her fear of how many years I have before I again join her,whatever she knew I loved her body and soul and I know she did too but being without her as been a total nightmare,canāt sleep,eat or enjoy things we did together and miss her more and more each day.
Sorry I may not be of any confidence to you but that is how many of us feel in this illness called Grief MM69
Grief often is accompanied by guilt. I doubt there are many here who have not felt guilt at some stage.
What we did the was right at the time. Looking back, and hindsight can be a great deceiver, we may think that we could have done better. We could have made someone more comfortable, spoken less harshly and so on.
I know my wife will have forgiven me any mistakes I had made. She was like that.
At the end she had dementia and that is so painful to watch.
But itās important to forgive ourselves. We are human and we react in the way we do because we have feelings and emotions.
Both your posts are from people in real pain. Not many words are available to give you comfort at this moment.
Grief is a process that we need go through with as much courage as we can muster, and thatās far from easy. But courage we all have. It may not seem so at this moment but itās there.
At the moment and so soon in grief our minds are ānegatively orientatedā. We tend to fasten on to negative thoughts and make ourselves upset. This too is to be expected.
You have had a deep trauma in your lives and itās inevitable you will feel low and look on the dark side.
Iām not going to ājolly you alongā with useless cliches and platitudes. Itās darned hard going and very painful, but I have seen some light ahead and I move toward it.
I lost my wife last November too. Itās still painful but it is getting just a little better. I take it day by day. I have good friends who help. They are new friends because the old ones disappeared after the funeral!
Take it easy, well, as easy as you can.
Losing the person we love more than anything in the world is the most devastating thing we ever deal with.
I lost my soulmate on April 1st, she was diagnosed with cancer just six weeks earlier in February.
The range of emotions we go through changes in an instant. Iāve cried in places where I should have been able to hold it together, Iāve screamed and yelled at God, got angry for no good reason. Youāre experiencing the same feelings we all have.
I believe totally that my sweetheart lives on as part of me, she encourages me and gives me strength. She is now my own personal angel. Whenever Iāve reached a really low point she and God have come to my aid.
I have been doing all kinds of things I would never have done before unless she was with me to do them. As a child I almost drowned and have been afraid of water ever since. She got me in the sea when she visited me in England before we got together permanently at her home in America. I trusted her absolutely and overcame some of the fear. This week Iāve been in the sea twice alone in person but not in spirit. I havenāt managed to let go of a breakwater yet but I lifted my feet and floated. I couldnāt have done it if she wasnāt still with me.
Itās only been five months, but Iām getting stronger, my trust in my angel and renewed faith in God keeps me going. I know the path ahead isnāt going to be easy, but I know Iām not alone and when my time comes she will be waiting to hug me in Godās kingdom.
Prayers and good thoughts, Carl.
Hi Valatschool
Iām so sorry for your loss. I donāt often post on hear as I sometimes find it sets me off again but today for some random reason I find myself crying and on here for support.
Like you I lost my husband after being diagnosed with cancer for only three weeks. We had a week at home together, then a week in hospital following a stroke and then a week in a hospice which was such a welcoming, supportive and amazing place. I was with my husband holding his hand when he slipped away. I knew it was coming but nothing prepares you for how quick it happens. Iām four months down the road of my new life and Iām due to go back to work next week. My life feels like it has completely changed and I feel so sad and angry about it. I too find the loneliness and emptiness so painful and whilst I can recognise that itās not quite as bad as it was I hate being on my own. I constantly think about the life we shared and loved and the support we gave each other.
I think what Iām trying to tell you is that it does get easier but it continues to creep up and take you by surprise but the feelings you describe are ones that we all experience and share in the group we have found ourselves in. You are not alone x
Thank you. No, nothing prepares you for the loss. I knew my darling Adrian was dying but didnāt realise how quickly he would pass away. Also watching him die with that terrible disease was the hardest thing I ever had to do. He also had been diagnosed the year before with Alzheimers and his cancer accelerated his dementia so at times near the end of his life he wasnāt himself. I thought today about all the plans we had made. I never took him for granted because he had had cancer 28 years ago which they had cured but I did take for granted that he would live longer. I wish I had known this was going to happen because I would probably have done things so differently. I have cried so much today. Nothing eases the pain and loneliness I am feeling.
Val. I can assure you that even if you had known what was to happen you wouldnāt have done anything differently. You did your very best, you cared and loved.
I knew for years but even when the C took hold in the last weeks, we still talked about a future, you know, silly things like the vegetables we was going to grow on the allotment, the way we was going to alter the garden, the walks we would do next when he got better, even where we was going for our next holiday. Somehow the need to have faith kicks in and I wouldnāt accept that I was having my Brian taken away from me by this terrible illness. Of course I knew, when I think back, but at the time we hang onto a thing called, Hope!!! Please donāt beat yourself up anymore. I have done all that and still do at times but it will do no good. We must remember the love we shared, that is precious.
Pat xx
I have been reading a book on mindfulness and finally feel it is getting through to me and I have found the following words most helpful (not written by me)
Overcoming loneliness
- Be very watchful about feeling sorry for yourself and then trying to fill the hole within through indulging in unhealthy habits.
- Resolve to be active or creative.
- Develop an appreciation of being alone.
- Develop friendships without talking too much or too little.
- Remember that quality in communication is preferable to quantity.
- Experience connection with plants. animals and nature.
- Keep a diary of everything new that you experience each day.
- Write out your feelings and remember that many others share with you a similar experience of loneliness.
- Be mindful of the times when this particular feeling is not present.
- Acknowledge as fully as possible the times of connection with life and the here and now.
- The greater the desire to escape this emotion the greater the feeling of loneliness.
- The less the desire to escape it then the greater the likelihood that this feeling of loneliness will lose itās grip over our lives.
Hope these words might help.
Pat
āAn appreciation of being aloneā - I realized a few weeks ago that this would be a major hurdle for me. Even though I often did many things alone, he was always there to hear about them, or comment. I know that this was the way for many of us. And the things we did together are irrefutably changedā¦but I do try some of them as well as some small new thingsā¦
āBe mindful of when the feeling is not presentā Itās now 10 weeks, and I had 2 days that I did not cryā¦it was a such a relief, albeit temporaryā¦it was just below the surface but did not rear its ugly headā¦At first the feeling was All The Timeā¦now I do have moments where it is tucked away in the backgroundā¦
I live in a beautiful Canadian forest and nature is soothing and healing. Within the first few days it made me realize that everything was going on the same all around me, no matter how my life had changed. It offers me moments of connection with the true beauty of life, no matter how devastated I feel. It makes me realize that I am alive, and that there is beauty around me, and its my duty to soak it in.
Thanks for taking the time to share all that, Pat. I appreciate it greatly. Could you tell us what what book it comes from. I found it very thought provoking and pretty much aligned with my thinking. x
Hi YL, so pleased it helped. The book was cheap one from TheWorks bookshop, donāt know if you have one near you. Itās called āMindfulness for everyday livingā by Christopher Titmuss
Mindfulness for me is hard going but I am persevering and trying to find hope, peace and loving kindness in my life again. For me itās more like rush around, find lots to do, and avoidance.
Pat xx
Hello Heather. Thank you for replying and what wonderful inspiring words. Truly lovely. You have quite made my day.
I couldnāt agree more about nature being soothing and healing. I am fortunate that where I live I too have forests, beaches and lovely countryside and have loved walking for years, we both did, before that horse riding but now I have found the true meaning of just what nature can do. I call it my therapy and medication. I look around me more and take in the true beauty, where before I would take it for granted. I am now more appreciative.
My husband painted landscapes and always told me to take notice of all the colours around us. Just being in the countryside and even talking to the beautiful old treeās makes me realise that life is precious no matter what we are having thrown at us.
I have some better days and even though I know itās short term it does give me hope that one day I will find that peace and acceptance. Before Brian died he asked me to take him on my walks and he would still be looking after me. I draw comfort that he is with me and talk to him.
I also did things alone, some times I would go off walking with the dogs for hours but he was always there. Talking to me on the phone to check I was alright, or me telling him where I was and if I was on my way home. I still use the phone sometimes and talk into it as if he was there. I like to think heās listening.
I have been on this journey longer than you and looking for that light all the time. I think you are doing so well.
God bless
Pat xxx
Thanks Pat. Cheap is good for a Yorkshireman 
I think there is one of those shops in Harrogate and I have to go there next week so will have a look. x
Dear Valatschool
You describe exactly what I used to feel a few weeks ago closely following the passing of my soul mate Anne. . Itās as if I could have written your post. When you love someone to bits its the times when we might have hurt them that grates on our conscience. Yet when we look deeply into our relationship with our beloved its the love that shone through every time; through every situation, yet at the time we were not consciously aware of it: all the good times as well as the not so good times. Because itās the love that binds the relationship together for ever. We humans are strange creatures. Do remember that Saying; āWe always hurt the one we love.ā Of course itās never intentional - and that works for both parties - yet it happens to be part of the pattern that forms a life long loving bond. How odd is that? And I have a feeling if it was me that had passed and my Anne was left bereaved she would be feeling exactly as I once did. Do you think your hubby might also have written your post as it stands if he had survived you? No couple stays together for many years without having the ups and downs of every say life. I always treat with great suspicion any person who says: ā We were married for ā¦yrs and never had a cross word.ā Itās clear to me by something you wrote that your dear husband loved you to bits. As my Anne did me. Be kind to yourself Valatschool.
Light and Love.
Geoff.
Thank you Geoff. I am finding these days so hard. Everything that Adrian touched,even the water bottle he was drinking from the day before he went into the hospice I am keeping like a kind of relic. I canāt get rid of his clothes or throw away anything he has written on as if it is a way of keeping him with me, yet it hits me again and again in vicious waves that I will never see him again. When people talk of āmoving onā I donāt want to. This was supposed to be āour timeā, when I had retired and we had our twilight years together. Not like this.
Hi,
I can only suggest, and I expect I will get slated for it, ignore all those cosy platitudes, " move on " ācome to terms with it,ā āaccept itā ābuild a new lifeā āa new relationshipā
How I hate them and the people who come out with them.
If you truly love someone and they are taken away from you before their time, how can you do any of those things?
What people are really saying is
" tough luck, this is the c - - - youāre left with" like it or lump it.
If you want to keep things that remind you of your loved one and bring you a little comfort at this darkest of times you hang into them forever however trivial they may seem to others.
Do what you want. Jx
Dear Valaschool I can empathise with everything you said. Today has been one of the very worst for me since Anne passed. Our 50th Wedding anniversary. I feel totally broken. All the progress Iāve made so far, the things I clung on to for support, have fallen away. Itās just hit me so hard that Iāll never see my Anne ever again in this world. I truly want to die. I dont want to go on like this anymore. I cant see where any of this is leading to. Nothing I do or think seems to be be helpful in snapping out of this mood Im in today. All the things Ive said to others on this site that were helpful to me and so hopefully helpful for them now mean nothing. I wont ever throw Anneās clothes away or empty her dressing table draws. As long as they remain there a little part of her lives on in our house.
Love and Light
Geoff
Oh Dalejackie
How I agree with you 100%. Iām even beginning to drop the " Iām sorry for your loss." phrase. Itās been said to me so many times I could roar! I know people mean well and are probably at a loss what to say but its worn so thin now.
Love and Light.Geoff.
Oh Geoff,
What a dreadful day for you.
So very painful.
I wish i could say something to ease the pain but I know I canāt.
All I can say is I understand you and how desperate you feel .
Take care Jx
Yes, all of Adrianās clothes are hanging in the wardrobe. My son said as I have his ashes, thatās good enough but I want reminders of his life not of his death. I totally understand what you are saying, I want to die too. If there is an after life I will hopefully be with him, if not then at least this pain will stop. All I would say to you, is unlike me you have had a visitation or the belief that Anne is with you. She would then know it was your 50th wedding anniversary and be wishing she was with you too. My grief is so raw. All the things that people say like āhe is in your heartā etc. are no comfort. I want him back with me. Last night I was reading all the texts we sent to each other. Mainly humdrum things about our humdrum life together but in many of them we said we loved each other and we always wanted to be together. Now he has gone I feel my life is finished and I am a waste of space without him.