tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post605372801973648341..comments2024-02-21T02:19:16.755-08:00Comments on Widow's Voice: Seven Widowed Voices Sharing Love, Loss, and Hope : Running on emptyMichele Neff Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02356589209090780127noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-82030835693166721422014-08-07T20:10:14.376-07:002014-08-07T20:10:14.376-07:00dear Rebecca,
I am so very sorry for all you have...dear Rebecca,<br /><br />I am so very sorry for all you have and are enduring...so many questions that beg for answers, and the emotional exhaustion that is so decimating. thank you for sharing the excerpt from your personal blog. I send you my ardent wishes for rest and respite from the reels I know must spin over and over in your head; and lots of warm hugs straight to your heart...<br /><br />with love,<br /><br />Karen xoxtccomments2013https://www.blogger.com/profile/00446394638074551345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-83052588964927806062014-08-05T15:54:19.778-07:002014-08-05T15:54:19.778-07:00Thank you for sharing Becky, it means a lot to kno...Thank you for sharing Becky, it means a lot to know that people read and that sharing my story helps. I am so sorry for your loss, I can't imagine how difficult it must be to have lost both your son and your husband, you are in my thoughts and prayers xoRebecca Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11421193473127149748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-41944706715545876922014-08-04T10:29:32.446-07:002014-08-04T10:29:32.446-07:00Rebecca - the words from your personal blog RESONA...Rebecca - the words from your personal blog RESONATE within me. I'm a widow and a survivor of suicide - My husband died suddenly from a heart attack 2 years after my beautiful 25 yr old son took his own life. Aug 9 will be the 8 year milestone of his death and everything you wrote speaks volumes to my heart. As I walk this week leading up to his death, I really needed to hear you words... Thank you!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12179900820077981263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-37104222202107583102014-08-04T04:40:06.240-07:002014-08-04T04:40:06.240-07:00Hello, oh u have my deepest sympathies...it is a j...Hello, oh u have my deepest sympathies...it is a journey none of us wanted to take.. But when u spend over half yr life w someone u r in a place with a huge void...for me I found myself looking for himmmm.. Turn around..down st.?? Is that u?? Me too Ben together since kids..I knw yr pain.. Jeff I wish u the best crawling out of this..1974https://www.blogger.com/profile/03452038541844071655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-52587223607396519302014-08-03T22:44:04.486-07:002014-08-03T22:44:04.486-07:00Jeff thank you so much for your kind words of supp...Jeff thank you so much for your kind words of support. As a writer here I get a lot out of the process of working through my thoughts and feelings but it helps so much to know that others benefit too, I'm so honoured to be able to help readers, even for a minute, feel like they aren't alone. I'm so sorry for your loss, I will be thinking of you on September 19 xoRebecca Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11421193473127149748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-56154129151851311182014-08-03T22:40:40.165-07:002014-08-03T22:40:40.165-07:00Thank you Brenda, God bless you too xThank you Brenda, God bless you too xRebecca Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11421193473127149748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-17041287805121807012014-08-03T22:40:18.672-07:002014-08-03T22:40:18.672-07:00Asha, I'm glad to hear that you are reaching o...Asha, I'm glad to hear that you are reaching out to your friends and preparing for your anniversary. The build up is hard but speaking about it makes such a difference for me. Good luck, I'll be thinking of you. Rebecca Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11421193473127149748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-25881297047174305702014-08-03T22:39:27.074-07:002014-08-03T22:39:27.074-07:00The questions are so relentless, aren't they. ...The questions are so relentless, aren't they. I sometimes feel like I've made my peace with them and let them go, only to have them come racing back a few months on. I hope in time I will be able to let them go - and I hope you can too. Lots of loveRebecca Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11421193473127149748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-43729192631247099102014-08-03T22:38:25.063-07:002014-08-03T22:38:25.063-07:00Thank you so much for your wise words and I'm ...Thank you so much for your wise words and I'm so sorry that you're also suffering from mental illness, it is such a cruel, lonely disease. I really appreciate the reminder that I couldn't have saved him. I'm also sorry for your loss. Rebecca Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11421193473127149748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-58324534400440297052014-08-03T14:28:24.995-07:002014-08-03T14:28:24.995-07:00I have had mental illness, depression & psycho...I have had mental illness, depression & psychotic episodes. These are horrible, frightening experiences and if you haven't experienced them they are impossible to explain. Try to let go of your guilt about not understanding what was happening to your hubby. You would have to be superhuman to have understood and been able to help. My husband died from cancer, but I feel no guilt about being unable to save him, and neither should you about not saving your guy from mental illness. It is a disease that, like other diseases, sometimes kills. The question of his love for you or yours for him is no more relevant to the cause of his death than it is in the cause of my husband's death from cancer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-60872681663047534112014-08-02T20:09:27.546-07:002014-08-02T20:09:27.546-07:00Dear Rebecca,
Of course your running on fumes. T...Dear Rebecca,<br /> Of course your running on fumes. Traveling to the U.S., attending Camp Widow, unpacking, doing what must be done, and writing a weekly column is hard for anyone especially someone alone. We get it, we understand so you take whatever time you need. We desperately need your insights, thoughts, and wisdom to help get us down this miserable road that we never asked to go down. I am so thankful for you seven wonderful widows that are willing to take time to help us understand why we think the way we think and feel what we feel. You certainly deserve a break any time you feel overwhelmed. Last year Aug. 3- 2013 marks the last time that my wife of 35 yrs. will leave the hospital alive. 10 days of neutropenic fever.. time is running out. After 3 yrs. 2 weeks of fighting brain cancer-GBM and 6 mo. of fighting leukemia-AML, I will loose my high school sweetheart and be lost and alone on Sept.19. The names, places and events are all different but in the end it is the same, we all lost our loved ones and it rips us apart. Thank you all for helping us to make sense of this insanity and to give us hope to live and love again.<br /> God Bless Jeff Frayernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-85098156571192934042014-08-02T19:13:50.776-07:002014-08-02T19:13:50.776-07:00Dear Rebecca,
Of course your running on fumes, ...Dear Rebecca,<br /> Of course your running on fumes, traveling to U.S., attending Camp Widow, unpacking and doing life's normal things is no walk in the park, especially doing it all by yourself. We get it, we know know it's no easy task to try to put our lives back together and write a column every week, I don't know how you seven do it week after week. We desperately need your hope and encouragement to help pull us down this crappy road that we never asked for. Take any time you need, you deserve any break you need to heal. This sucks for you and each and every one of us. Tomorrow Aug. 3- 2013 will be the last time that my wife of 35 yrs., Pam will have come home from the hospital alive. Ten days there for neutropenic fever. The end is near. After 3 yrs. and 2 weeks of fighting brain cancer-gbm- and 6 mo. of fighting leukemia- aml , I will loose my high school sweetheart on Sept. 19. No matter how the story unfolds bottom line is that in the end we lost our precious loved ones. We hurt, we don't understand this journey, were very angry, were lost, but we are all in this boat together. Thank you for speaking to our hearts and making some kind of sense of our feelings that many will never understand. God bless Jeff Frayernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-22958904367893604812014-08-02T16:57:57.950-07:002014-08-02T16:57:57.950-07:00I am so sorry for your loss Rebecca. And yes, it&#...I am so sorry for your loss Rebecca. And yes, it's perfectly fine to put your own needs first when u need to. We DO get it & understand. I hope u r able to come to terms with this one day. It must be terribly painful, more so than losing them from natural causes or accidentally as most of us have done. God bless u & keep u safe. I will keep u in my prayers. Brenda Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-32577780896268251782014-08-02T16:10:48.846-07:002014-08-02T16:10:48.846-07:00Yes, it is indeed essential to put our own needs f...Yes, it is indeed essential to put our own needs first sometimes. My one year mark is coming up in 4 weeks and I'm already starting to feel the anxiety building up. Have already warned my friends that I might be bothering them a lot more than I already do. <br />You take rest. Big hug..Ashanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268746983441346507.post-48388609119238393162014-08-02T04:52:30.875-07:002014-08-02T04:52:30.875-07:00I understand ur feeling realy very well,i m also g...I understand ur feeling realy very well,i m also going through this as well,though i m busy or free i always thinking about the same question WHY he did this to himself and why he leave me alone as he loves me very much,how could he do so,and y he do so.but without geting any answer i m still doing the same...same as i was 14 months ago on his deathAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com