Hello Liz
My first thoughts, and surely Mike's too, after the news of more cancer, were about you. How were you going to hold up.
Now I have never met Mike face to face.... and THAT is going to change! But I am sure you must compliment his personality. You must be someone very special and having gone through so much before this news, I think you may have some very strong abilities to face the challenges you are going to face. It will not be easy watching Mike go through the next year, but you will take each day as it comes.
Losing your best friend and partner has got to be terrible for both of you. I cannot even fathom the emotions that you are going through. But I watch my dad as he agonizes each day with my mother who has advanced stages of Alzheimers and doesn't even know him (or any of us)and dies a little each day.
I see him making emotional(and sometimes bad)decisions just to keep her home.
I also see his health declining as he gives everything to making sure she is cared for. He is just now breaking her out of the nicest extended care facility because he is sure they are not doing all they can for her.
All I can say is, We have grown to love Mike very much through this crazy electronic media, and we have always known you were his life. His every post gave us the impression that he was part of a Team of Two. Never alone. And always aware that you were 51% of the strength.
I'm not trained in any kind of psychology and have no comforting words to make your life any easier. But unlike our past President... I really, really do "Feel Your Pain" My heart aches for you and even 2000 miles of distance cannot ease the ache I feel for both of you.
Please feel free to scream at this post. Say a few choice words, followed by "How dare he even think......"
Mike had a profound effect on my "second" life after RC surgery. I had no information to go on at first. I went from "you have cancer" to RC in 3 months. It was only after I was home recovering that I stumbled on this site and tenativly asked my first question "Am I going to die from bladder cancer?"
Mike responded that I was going to die from anything but bladder cancer.... as I no longer had a bladder to get cancer. It took me a week to realize that he was being a smart ass(and kicking me in it)
Sorry for the crushing word count here. I just have a flood of disjointed emotions that are rushing to the front of my mind and I needed to just throw them out there for your consideration.
With all of our love
George Kline