A Peaceful Transition

 This one is even tougher. Joyce passed away today, 6/20/22 at 3:00 PM.

And while her illness determined that this was going to be the ultimate outcome, it is, of course difficult to say goodbye to the love of your life and best friend. The greatest gift that we were given in her passing was how peacefully she passed. The hospice staff was incredibly helpful guiding us through the process. I was pretty organized. Some of you may have noticed that about me during all of this. But hospice helped me focus on the present to be mindful of what to look for and appreciate what we had done to keep her as comfortable as possible.

Cancer cures are happening every day. Cancer research is helping people live longer. I think it is important to remember that for Joyce it has been 7 years with which she has had to cope with this disease. We thought she had beaten the odds at the 5 year mark but after a short celebration we learned that the disease had metastasized. Her original therapy, at first, had held it at bay. After learning that the cancer had spread the doctors told us that our goal was to look forward to a 6 month timeline. That was almost 2 years ago. For those of you who have followed this blog, you have seen the new alternatives that have been tried and indeed have succeeded in prolonging the time Joyce was able to be with us. So, from my perspective I would suggest that we should all remain hopeful that  science will advance the evolution of medical healing.

To all of you who have offered hope and prayers, please know that we are eternally grateful for your heartfelt concern for Joyce and for me. It was a team effort for all of us and there were small victories along the way. In the last blog I said we were at the oasis where Joyce had wanted to be at the end. We settled in and enjoyed the time together we had left. For Joyce, this is THIS journey’s end. But, with her peaceful transition she is on a new adventure that will have her body free of pain and suffering. And for that I am very thankful.

The next posting will give the information about her church service and burial.