When Another Day Is No Longer Wanted

Photo by the author

As I took this sunrise photo a few days ago, I thought of my brother Pat, who, last year at this time, was dying of liver cancer. He would survive until September. From diagnosis to death was seven months.

I saw him four times, with Pat sitting in his sunroom, and two lying on a bed supplied by hospice in his living room.

His pain was managed, but what I’ll always recall, during the last two visits, was something he said and then repeated:

The worst of all is the absence of energy.

Pat’s wife, Sue, told me that on the Monday of his final week, he told her, “All I want is to die.”

For the past month, my body has battled a skin virus that sapped my vitality. Today, I relish feeling well enough to imagine tackling tomorrow’s chores.

One more precious life lesson from Pat.