In June of 2014, I lost my wife, Joanne, to lung cancer. Joanne was my hero and still is. I always said that if I went through what she did, I would probably dig a hole and climb in. Not her - she was a fighter.
In September of 2004 Joanne was sent home from work not feeling well. After her daughter insisted that she go to the hospital, we were told that she had emphysema and it was bad. There were many hospital stays and a lot of worries, but she never complained. In 2006, Joanne put off a beneficial lung reduction surgery to get legal custody of her grand kids. By the time her legal battle was done, her lungs were too damaged to have the surgery and she developed pneumonia. Even then, she never complained.
In March of 2014 Joanne told me she was getting headaches and losing her balance. We learned she had developed lung cancer and that it had spread to her brain. When Joanne found out she looked at me and said, "I am going to beat this like I have everything else."
She put up a hell of a fight but unfortunately this was a battle she could not win. Sadly, she passed away surrounded by family and friends on June 15, 2014 at the age of 58. I miss her everyday.
