Chapter One - Introduction

Note:  The "Published" dates of these blog entries have been fictionalized so as to present the chapters in oldest to newest order.  The actual publication dates appear in the first line of each Chapter  

10/6/19 - I'm Tim, and this Blog is the sequel to my prior series, Us vs. Cancer (usvcancer.blogspot.com).  I am 69 years old, and until August 11th of this year, I had been married to Penelope O'Neill for 40 years.  On that day, eight weeks ago today, she died after four months of battling gallbladder cancer.  In my prior Blog, I detailed the discovery of cancer in a seemingly healthy, vibrant and energetic woman, how we dealt with the treatment and disease progression, and the sudden and precipitous decline that ended her life.  Although we were told from the outset that GBC is rare, aggressive and deadly, and that Penny's remaining life would be measured in months rather than years, the months that we spent together under that terminal prognosis did not even begin to prepare me for the emotional aftermath of her death.  As a lawyer who writes for a living, writing is also my personal outlet.  Composing my thoughts and experiences helps greatly to organize the highs and lows, and to take a step back and critically assess where I am in the journey.  In this Blog I will first try to review the first eight weeks of my grief, and then track forward a day or two at a time, hoping always to find a path to peace with Penny's death and hope for some measure of the happiness I found in my 42 years with her.  Please join me in that quest and feel free to leave your comments.