I remember Easter of 1978 as if it were yesterday. Knowing that our six-year-old’s cancer would return and nothing further could be done about it, Bob and I took our two children to Los Angeles for one last vacation. I could only do it because I was 35 and had the necessary energy to do it.
At a TV show taping, the host picked out Laurie to do something on the show. I don’t remember what it was, but it made her very happy. At that point, no one could have guessed that she was dying. I think she got a pack of gum for her participation.
Bob and I went to see Hollywood Squares and my best friend’s sister took Rob and Laurie to the circus.
We visited the Self-Realization grounds to pray for Laurie and ask for heavenly assistance. We drove to San Juan Capistrano to pray further. And yes, the swallows had just returned.
We paid a brief visit to Disneyland but it did not hold a candle to Disney World in Florida.
Looking through photos, there is a snapshot of me in front of The Comedy Store. ( I was writing one-liners in those days.)
We came back home only to hear Laurie screaming with pain. At the children’s hospital they informed us that her cancer was now in her lungs. By mid-July she was dead.
Her death changed our family on the deepest of levels. It may be why Bob died of his own cancer at the age of 63.
My caregiving skills were put to the test for almost a decade. My outer life was meaningless to me, so I turned within to study truth.
No one is given an easy life, but most people do not have to bury a child. I have never been the same.
I write prodigiously about the truth and how it was all I had to cling to.
It still is.
Vicki Woodyard
Such a sad tale. I remember my grandmother standing beside my father’s casket, her son, saying “a mother should never have to stand beside her child’s casket.” It must be gut wrenching. You have handled it so well. Thank you for your writing and sharing….
Dennis,
Thank you for your comment. You add to the richness of my writing, as we are all one.