Life After Death: A Surreal Reality

My friend Susan told me last week that another woman has unofficially just joined our club. Unofficial because Susan hasn't reached out to her yet. She's waiting for an introduction and then, we'll see. I am the club's newest member, and there is no expectation of me doing the reach out. The thought is too unbearable, my feelings still too raw. We are a club of widows. I am one of three members, and I've only met Susan, who I now know I would be friends with even if we didn't have this Horrible Thing in common. Joel was my husband and the love of my life. He died 15 months ago, and what seemed so surreal for the first year is now simply real, although still impossibly hard to comprehend. He had MS, a compromised immune system, he got bit by a mosquito, apparently... but this was the Big Mystery during his three-week hospital stay: How and why was he so sick? He was in a coma for all of but the first two days. He ultimately was one of only a few people who died of West Nile Virus in Los Angeles that year. But Joel was 50. Only 50. Early into his hospital stay, the doctors realized that Joel was paralyzed from the neck down. They determined brain damage. So the decision to end his life on November 1 wasn't that difficult to make. It was difficult in that the confirmed West Nile diagnosis only came on October 25, a few days before my 46th birthday. I didn't want my husband to die on my birthday. But then it would be Halloween and our daughter was so excited. We pi...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news