grieving

Sometimes a memory of your dead loved one will bonk you on the head when you least expect it.

I facilitate a book discussion group at my library called “Grieving Through Reading.” It was initially created by a volunteer but she never officially started the group due to a change in workplace. When I was asked to do this, I said yes before the question was fully formed. As you know, talking about grief, death and dying is what I enjoy doing. I guess it’s really the sharing of grief and being able to provide comfort is what really brings me joy.

This week, “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End” by Dr. Atul Gawande was our book choice. There is an hour long documentary of the book that we didn’t have time to watch. So I started our discussion with a short clip from the film, where Dr. Gawande is discussing what his father’s doctor communicated to them regarding treatments for his cancer. The doctor was encouraging the father to take the chemotherapy and said, “Who knows? You could be playing tennis by the end of the summer.” This was absolutely ridiculous. As Gawande tells it, his father was weeks from being paralyzed. There would never be tennis playing again, yet the doctor tells this foolish and utter lie.

As my book group is in the room watching this clip, I suddenly get a flashback at what my brother’s cardiologist said to him just a month before he died. Phil was going to have surgery where a VAD (ventricular assist device) would be implanted to help his failing heart to pump blood to his body. Phil wanted to wait until early winter to do it. His doctor said that the surgery would prolong his life and he’d visit my brother and his partner on their anniversary in several years time.

What a bunch of horseshit.

As I sat in the room with my book group, watching this video for the third time (I literally watched it the day before), it dawned on me this interaction my brother had with his doctor is just like what Dr. Gawande described. Why it took 7 years for me to realize this and at this exact horrible moment, I don’t know. (I know I can be slow sometimes, but for christ sakes this is bonkers.) I was momentarily stunned and felt such an intense fury and grief, that I wasn’t sure I could do anything. I ended up missing the ending of the video, then snapped out of thoughts, shoved those emotions down deep, and went on.

I was in a pretty awful mood directly after the program and then just kept pretty quiet. My eyes and face felt like I had been crying, although I hadn’t. I felt deeply sad the rest of the day.

But I never cried, which is highly unusual for me. It’s like a put a stopper in my soul because this bit of grief and anger felt too big to deal with.

Today, however, it’s slowly seeping out. I’ve thought about Phil more and more these last few days. I want to figure out the name of Phil’s doctor and write him a letter, although the energy that would take at this moment seems too much. I had this sweet text exchange today with my former brother-in-law about my son and how proud my family would be of him. I mentioned it first, and my BIL said he didn’t want to say anything because he didn’t want it to land wrong. But after he saw my son a few weeks ago, he said all he could think of was how fucking proud Phil would be of him. I wept when I read that.

I’m angry that Phil’s not here to see this kid turn into a beautiful young man, but I’m mostly feeling bereft. I wish someone had been more honest with him about his chances. I wish I had been more honest with myself. Phil knew he was going to die and maybe he knew the doctor was full of shit. I wish I could ask him. I wish Phil was here to talk to my boy about the colleges he’s applied to, the amazing stories he’s written lately, and the political climate of our country. Phil would have many things to say about all of it. I still remember Phil telling me how good one of my son’s stories was when he was in 3rd grade. Phil could see that potential, and I’m so glad he did. I hope he had an idea of how his nephew would turn out.

I’m doing a lot of wishing and missing tonight, big brother. I love you. We all love you. And we miss you so fucking much. ❤

For several days now I’ve had this stomach ache. You know the kind that sits in the center of your belly like a tight knot of worry and dread? After Phil, my big brother, died, I had that stomach ache nearly every weekend for a year. Our family saw him for the last time on a Sunday morning and he died that afternoon. So each weekend afterwards I would relive that day over and over. I would take walks alone so I wouldn’t cry in front of my husband and son. I would stand a quarter of a mile away from my house and sob on the side of the road. It happened so many times that I still tear up occasionally when I walk that hill because my body expects to cry.

And now it’s that day once again. July 23rd. I hate this day. A good friend has a birthday today and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to celebrate with her on this date. My life and my family’s lives were so torn apart that day. And no matter how much I work through the grief and keep putting one foot in front of the other, my life will never, ever be the same. As much love and kindness as I get from my friends and family, there will always be this gap in my life and this bit of unreachable joy because Phil isn’t here to make us laugh or to tell stories or to just be here. To just be.

There’s also this little bit of guilt that I’ve been hanging on to and I don’t know what to do with it. While my brother was in the hospital, his partner and I went to talk to him to basically convince him that it was ok to die. It was ok to say he had enough. Once he made that decision, the bravest thing I’ve ever seen by the way, he couldn’t look me in the face. I held his hand and cried on his bed, then I left. We went back to the room where my sister, mother and doctors were sitting and told him that he was ready to “go.” Then everyone went back to Phil’s bed to say goodbye.

But I didn’t. I told my sister I had said goodbye and had already told him I loved him and it was their turn to have time with him. But why didn’t I go back? Why didn’t I take one more look at him and touch him and say “I love you” one more time?

I remember telling my sister to tell Phil that Dad loved him because our dad didn’t come. He just couldn’t. And I didn’t want to be too selfish and take more time with Phil than the others….but I also think I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to look at me again. I *was* being selfish. I should have gone back into that room one more time, no matter if he could look at me or not. I should have spent every imaginable second I could with him.

But I didn’t.

And I deeply, deeply regret that.

So now I go on. I try to remember the great times we had, the laughs, the stories, the hugs and the so many “I love you”s. I will talk out loud to Phil when I need him and imagine him talking back. Tonight my sister and I will toast our favorite brother and tell those stories and laugh and hug and say “I love you”.

And we will keep putting one foot in front of the other.