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Claires Battles Over
Just to let you know I lost my beautiful wife at 3.00 am this morning.
The infection from her colon perforating was more than she could cope with and her condition slowly got worse through Friday.
It seems so sad that she survivived the battel against bladder cancer but succumbed to this.As a family we will always be grateful for the support Claire recieved from this website.
I hope you will remember how she dealt with her diagnosis with bravery and dignity and that people starting out on treatment will see that it is copable with.Claire was unlucky to have this complication.
Steve Izzy Lottie and Archie -
24 Replies
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Dear Steve, Lizzie, Lottie, Archie & Family,
I am absolutely devastated for you all after just hearing about Claire passing away. Claire and I had our ops at the same time and were in touch a fair bit. As I live in Germany it was great to be able to have contact with a woman of similar age and a fellow Brit too. I found her a huge source of inspiration. She was always so funny and warm and struck me as being a wonderful wife and mother. A really beautiful woman inside and out. I shall miss her.
My heartfelt sympathy goes to you all.
All my love, Kate -
Steve,
I am glad you read all of Claires posts, the one I enjoyed was about the boat trip, and how she looked okay in her bathing suit, that was just August. She should have had many those of days left in her life. I still can’t believe this took her life.
I wondered when you have time if you could give us details about her funeral. Time , Place, etc. This infection worked fast to destroy her life, how quickly we can loose our loved ones. I think about how when going in for this problem I am sure she never imagined it was so serious, nor yourself. Oh, and yes, the beach party, what fun she had, she was a lovely woman, and she loved you, so obvious in her posts. Love to you and the kids, Ginger Beane -
Steve, I am new to this forum, and I did not have the pleasure of meeting Claire. From reading the compilation of Zach’s posts, I was stunned at what a brave, sincere, positive, and inspirational woman she was. I understand now what a loss this is to the forum and moreso, to you and your family. I wish you the best in this difficult time, andrea
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Thank you all so much especially Zach the link to Claires posts was awesome.
The insight into how she has coped and changed over the last 15 months was wonderful.I spent the wee small hours reading though and was moved to tears.Your messages are all a great comfort and Cathy I will try and read your poem at her funeral.
I think we are all still in shock I keep expecting her to walk through the door with shopping or something.
Steve. -
To Dear Steve, Lizzie, Lottie, Archie & Family,
I am so deeply saddened to hear of Claire’s passing, she was an inspiration to us all, she had fought so hard to stay here, I wrote a poem that sums up what I & others thought of Claire.Caring Claire
Even though we had never met,
Only written over the net,
Claire touched our hearts with kindness,
She gave us hope with her thoughts,
She was an inspiration to everyone,
& always there if you needed someone,
She was a loving & devoted mother & wife,
It is truly a tragedy she has lost her fight,
She fought so hard to stay with those she loved,
She will now watch down on them from above,
She will continue to inspire people far & wide,
For so much love she had inside.My prayers & thoughts go out to Claire’s friends & family & those that didn’t know Claire in person but felt touched by her as I have.
She will be sadly missed.
Love Cathy. -
To Steve
I was devastated and chocked on Saturday evening when I saw your message.
This was the last thing I thought would happen to Claire. She and I was kind of “pen-pals”. Wrote many PM-messages to each others.Of cause that you and your family have lost a beatiful wife, and a caring and loving mother. Our thoughts goes to you and you and your children.
But we on this web-community have lost one of our best friends, and I promise you:
I will never forget her!!I wrote in some of the last messages to her: You will allways have a big place in my heart…
Sincerly,
Knut
Diagnozed first time April 1th 2004.
Muscle invasive, T3A.
Radical Cystectomy June 29th 2004.
Illeal conduit. Bag on my stommack.Dear Steve,
I am so sorry to hear the news of Claires passing. She befriended me from my first post back in February of this year. We were similar in age and stage and she offered her support, prayers and experience to me – as if we had been friends forever. Always the optimist – sometimes I thought I could even hear giggles in her posts. She spoke frequently of how much she loved you and the children and came across as a “Proverbs 31” woman to me. I have benefitted from knowing her and I will miss her dearly.
My condolances and prayers to you and yours. God Bless, Holly
Dear Steve,
I can’t believe it…losing someone so young, so courageous and with so much to give. It’s a tragedy.
I’m truly shocked and heartbroken. I was looking forward to continuing a long friendship with Claire. Like others here, I will miss her; she will be remembered by all the people she’s touched. Her story remains on this site.
My deepest condolences to you and your family.
Wendy
Steve and Family
Claire was a huge support for people here and will be massively missed. Its a shock that someone who projected such warmth and positivity even on this text board here is gone. I think I only had a couple of exchanges with Claire in the last year I’ve seen her here, but read many of the the supportive posts she wrote to other people. It’s a testament to her committment here that even in the midst of what must be a heartbreaking time, you’ve stepped into her shoes here and kept us informed of what has been going on. I’ll miss her here as a fellow brit, BC survivor and human being. It’s absoloutely obvious to anyone reading her posts, and I just re-read them via Zachary’s link, how brave and dignified she was through her illness. It’s also clear how much good humour she faced it with and the delight she took in the simple pleasures of life like a nice day. It’s awful news.
Lots of love to you all
Tim
Steve and family, I am so sorry to hear of your loss, Claire has been a real inspiration to me and to all of us,Thinking of you all,
Kindest Regards
I was so very sorry to hear about Claire. She was such a trooper and inspiration on this board. I shall miss her very much.
Steve, Lizzie, Lottie and Archie,
I am so truly sorry for your loss. Claire was such an inspiration. She went through more than most of us have and then she came back to give back and share her hope and meaningful support.
I know she will remain in your hearts forever and she will certainly remain in mine.
Pat
Steve & Family,
I didn’t get to know Claire very well but did enjoy following her posts. I was so surprised to get the news…I had been praying for her but had no idea her situation was so serious. She has touched the lives of so many people in the most positive way as her comments to others were always uplifting and hopeful. Each life s a miracle that changes the wold and in her case, she left the world such a lovlier place than before. It takes great courage to say goodbye to someone you love so dearly here on earth….and great faith to trust and know that she is now without any discomfort or pain …with time, your courage and faith will bring your heart peace and comfort…I cannot imagine how much you must hurt and am so sorry you must go through this pain….you all are in my prayers, morning and night. Melodie
Melodie, Indy Pouch, U.W.Medical Center, Seattle, Dr. Paul H. Lange & Jonathan L. Wright
[quote author=momof4 link=topic=1257.msg8842#msg8842 date=1192317986]
Steve, do you know how to view all of her posts? It would be great for your children to read how inspirational your wife/their mother was, even while she must have been in such pain herself.
[/quote]Here is all of her posts, from the newest to the oldest. Click on page 9 at the top or bottom of the screen to read them in order.
http://blcforum.com/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=474;sa=showPosts
“Standing on my Head”––my chemo journal
T3a Grade 4 N+M0
RC at USC/Norris June 23, 2006 by Dr. John Stein
Zach…I couldn’t agree more. I was also reading her posts. Steve, do you know how to view all of her posts? It would be great for your children to read how inspirational your wife/their mother was, even while she must have been in such pain herself. You should all be very proud of the kind of woman she was. Truely a friend to those of us she didn’t even know…God bless you All….
In my thoughts,
Karen
Caregiver for my Wonderful Husband Angelo, who has Metastatic Bladder Cancer.Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.
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