“And So There Must Come an End” – The Final Charlotte Kitley Blog Post

In this unfair battle with cancer, I often feel like we’re battling some relentless, unstoppable, demonically powerful foe who has weapons we don’t understand let alone are able to defeat.

It’s a villain that’s dragged too many wonderful people into their grave before their time. And when that time comes, I hope I have the grace and fortitude and courage to face that defeat like Charlotte Kitley. Here is a link to the final post from her blog entitled “Living life with love, laughter and Stage 4 Bowel Cancer”: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/charlotte-kitley/bowel-cancer-charlotte-kitley_b_5836238.html

There’s one paragraph from that post that is so poignant and sorrowful and well-written I just have to share it with you:

“As you read this, I will no longer be here. Rich will be trying to put one foot in front of the other, to get by, a day at a time, knowing I will no longer awake next to him. He will see me in the luxury of a dream, but in the harsh morning sun, the bed will be empty. He will get two cups from the cupboard, but realise there is only one coffee to make. Lucy will need someone to reach for her hairband box, but there won't be anyone to plait her hair. Danny will have lost one of his Lego policeman, but no one will know exactly which one it is or where to look. You will look for the latest update on the blog. There won't be one, this is the final chapter.”

Copyright: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/profile_gladkov'>gladkov / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

Amy Marash Interprets the “Five Stages of Grief”

According to Julie Axelrod of in her post on PsychCentral, “The stages of mourning and grief are universal and are experienced by people from all walks of life. Mourning occurs in response to an individual’s own terminal illness or to the death of a valued being, human or animal. There are five stages of normal grief that were first proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book “On Death and Dying.”

I understand these stages better when I see Amy Marash’s artistic interpretation. You can see the rest of her “Five Stages of Grief” drawings at http://cancerissofunny.blogspot.com/2014/04/5-stages-of.html

And here’s a link to Axelrod’s post: http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief/000617

And if you love these drawings, be sure to check out her book, Cancer is SO FUNNY” - http://www.lulu.com/shop/amy-marash/cancer-is-so-funny/paperback/product-20010105.html