In memory of my Aunt MaryDawn who passed away this last week from a courageous battle with "glioblastoma" (cancer in the brain).
MaryDawn is my Dad's older sister. On all accounts I had always believed she would outlive all of us. If it wasn't for the cancer, I think she would have. For a woman in her 70's she was larger than life, with a personality that was electrifying and full of energy. I am thankful for the competitive and graceful way that she fought the cancer battle. When she was diagnosed she focused all of her energy full speed ahead doing everything she could to beat the odds, and beat the odds she did. The picture above was taken last year at the Tracey Aviary in Liberty Park, Salt Lake City. This was a good week for MaryDawn as it was in-between treatments. So I was able to visit her unconstrained from the effects of treatment. As we talked I found that she had already outlived the others that were diagnosed at the same time. The cancer she had, if I remember correctly, only had a 2% survival rate (my dad will have to confirm that). As sick as she became during treatments she was forceful about her therapy and all the doctors asked her to do. From what I hear, they were amazed. She was absolutely positive and willing to fight the fight. Even though MaryDawn was undergoing treatment, on the day this picture was taken, she and her husband Paul almost rode their bicycles down to the park to meet us, but voted to drive since there was a chance for rain. I believe this is why she was able to prolong her death for so long, she wasn't going to let it knock her down. Like I said, if you were to have met her you would have felt her energy to. It was hard to believe she was in her 70's, she could run circles around those my age. As time went on the treatments were not as successful and ultimately MaryDawn chose "to allow mother nature to take her course". I admire that comment. Sometimes the bigger person is the one who allows themselves to accept tough choices. This was no doubt a tough choice. But she was graceful to the end.
MaryDawn is my Dad's older sister. On all accounts I had always believed she would outlive all of us. If it wasn't for the cancer, I think she would have. For a woman in her 70's she was larger than life, with a personality that was electrifying and full of energy. I am thankful for the competitive and graceful way that she fought the cancer battle. When she was diagnosed she focused all of her energy full speed ahead doing everything she could to beat the odds, and beat the odds she did. The picture above was taken last year at the Tracey Aviary in Liberty Park, Salt Lake City. This was a good week for MaryDawn as it was in-between treatments. So I was able to visit her unconstrained from the effects of treatment. As we talked I found that she had already outlived the others that were diagnosed at the same time. The cancer she had, if I remember correctly, only had a 2% survival rate (my dad will have to confirm that). As sick as she became during treatments she was forceful about her therapy and all the doctors asked her to do. From what I hear, they were amazed. She was absolutely positive and willing to fight the fight. Even though MaryDawn was undergoing treatment, on the day this picture was taken, she and her husband Paul almost rode their bicycles down to the park to meet us, but voted to drive since there was a chance for rain. I believe this is why she was able to prolong her death for so long, she wasn't going to let it knock her down. Like I said, if you were to have met her you would have felt her energy to. It was hard to believe she was in her 70's, she could run circles around those my age. As time went on the treatments were not as successful and ultimately MaryDawn chose "to allow mother nature to take her course". I admire that comment. Sometimes the bigger person is the one who allows themselves to accept tough choices. This was no doubt a tough choice. But she was graceful to the end.
MaryDawn was like a matriarch of our family. One of my favorite things about her was her incredible sense of memory. She was my resource for my genealogy hobby. She was the one who had all the family memories and stories cataloged in her head. I regret that I did not interview her first, but am fortunate to have a lot of information that she verbally gave me.
She could bring life to any party and she loved to talk just as much as I do!!! On top of that she was a pretty funny lady. I never dared her to do anything but she was the type that if you dared her to do something, she would show you that she could do it (in a reasonable way, no unsafe stuff)
I also admired her sense of progression. Age, for our family has always been irrelevant. It must be in our genes because all of us seem to believe in positive thinking and pushing ourselves to continue to do things regardless of age, take care of ourselves, etc. One special memory I have is back in 1988-89 MaryDawn, I believe for her 50th birthday, rode her bicycle from Utah to Colorado. I picked her up in my friend Doug's jeep down at the Pearl Street Mall. Now how many women do you know, who would set out on their own and peddle 1500 miles?? (I have no idea the actual mileage but you get the point). Later for her 60th birthday she set out to ride her bicycle from the West coast to the East coast. The trip was not completed because she got in an accident. The next year she decided to try it again, but this time not alone. She road her bicycle with a group of women cyclists all over the age of 50, from the West to the East. Ken and I met up with her and her group in Bastrop Texas.
She was passionate about life, meeting people from all over the world, and enjoying the earth. I remember on another long bike ride she mentioned that she was always the straggler because she would have to stop and take pictures of the flowers on the prairie. Another trait of our family. She was also passionate about her 3 children and especially her grandchildren. She tended to take care of all of us in her own way. I have great memories of visiting her in North Carolina and her willingness to take me in.
Death is a part of life. Although death has its sting, I'm glad that I can experience the emotions. Because it proves that I've felt love from her. If we did not feel pain, we would not know what joy feels like. There will always be that tug when I think of her or want to e-mail, or missing her updates. I am happy that she led a good life, as that is what she has left us. For me, I know it's not the end.
Death is a part of life. Although death has its sting, I'm glad that I can experience the emotions. Because it proves that I've felt love from her. If we did not feel pain, we would not know what joy feels like. There will always be that tug when I think of her or want to e-mail, or missing her updates. I am happy that she led a good life, as that is what she has left us. For me, I know it's not the end.
This is the third person that we know who has died in the past few months. Daria has shed a lot of tears, yet she recognizes that it's not final. It's been interesting to see how the kids process it. For now we are choosing to celebrate that MaryDawn lived and the memories she gave us.
1 comment:
You know, right now is a particularly HARD time for me...because of family. I'm so glad you posted about your Aunt. I will e-mail you more of my deep thoughts! I think they may not be appropriate for a comment board:-)
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