Another Sad Day

Yesterday my brother-in-lw Pat died. He was Gerry's oldest brother. He was 78 and had some health issues - diabetes, overweight, bad legs, etc. On July 3rd after going to the ER for a stomach ache he was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer and given 6 months to live. Of course, the family was devestated, as they were all watching Gerry on the downslide. From the time Pat was diagnosed his wife Carol and I began to speak often, as I offered the support I knew she would need. She was also very fortunate to have this wonderful family around her. The Devine's are a close-knit family, which is what you need at a time like this. Now, 5 months from the time of diagnosis, Pat succumbed to his illness. I felt so sad for his family and the rest, but mostly for my brother-in-law Eddie (the brother we had been closest to). Eddie lost his second oldest brother Donny 4 years ago to liver cancer, Gerry in July and now Pat - two brothers within 4 1/2 months. Aside from the youngest, a sister who extranged herself from the family about 10 years ago (and was given EVERY opportunity to come back into the fold), Eddie is the last one. I did not go to the funeral as I am in Florida and they were in NY. I probably could have found the funds to fly up (though no one expected me to) but after attending a bar mitzvah three weeks ago and crying through most of it (because I knew how much Gerry wanted to be there) I knew that I couldn't go through Pat's funeral and mostly I couldn't sit and watch Eddie go through it. I just hope that this is IT for illness and death, at least, for a little while!