She's Back Again: My Feisty Friend
Lorraine Roxon Harrington writes a moving tribute to a very special lady, her fesity friend Pam.
Pam is my friend. She is a feisty, intelligent, wonderful lady who is showing great courage .
Pam has recently been diagnosed with cancer of the lungs.
She is only sixty years of age, and has faced cancer before.
Cervical cancer, and a kidney transplant is not something one faces easily. Pam did.
That was ten years ago and at that time she was able to fight and looked forward to the future.She was younger and her husband and children needed her and there was hope.
Now there is no hope. The children are grown up and it is her time to think of herself and what she wants .
Because of this she has chosen to die with dignity.
No operations, no chemotherapy, just relief from the pain she is suffering. That is all she is asking.
When the time is right, she will choose euthanasia. So she has told me.
Her attitude is courageous, just as her whole attitude to life has been. I know she will be courageous in death.
She is having a farewell at home to say ‘goodbye to friends. Just drinks and nibbles, and no sad faces. That is her wish.
This is going to be very difficult for me. I cried after she came home from hospital and told me on the phone that there was no hope .
For Pam, I have to go, and I have to be strong. I will even try to make her laugh.
I think of her constantly. I do not phone as I want her to keep up whatever strength she has left.
I try to think of the farewell at home day as a Celebration of the life she has so bravely lived .
A woman of values, a believer in justice, a fighter for what she believes in . A warm, caring and gentle person. A caring wife, mother and grandmother.
Yes! my friend Pam is a feisty , brave lady and I will miss her dreadfully and remember her always.
Writing this down, and putting thoughts on paper, helps me to face up to my feelings. It is my way of coping.
