"My most recent memory of her birthday was her 51st, only a few weeks after the doctors said there was nothing left to do but wait for the inevitable. But Lori ignored that. For 23 years, she lived with a malignant brain tumor and was told this is it. And then, it wasn't. On what would be her last birthday,"
"On what would be her last birthday, I made her a three-layer cake filled with strawberries and covered in a chocolate ganache, prepared pancakes (which was her favorite food group), and gave her chocolate from her favorite shop, a cubic zirconium engagement ring because her actual engagement ring no longer fit on her fingers, and a needlepoint kit that she could use from her wheelchair. And when she went to sleep, I cried."
The narrator recalls Lori living with a malignant brain tumor for 23 years and dying almost five years ago. Lori's resilience and joyful spirit shaped their lives, even during illness and in her final days. The narrator remembers a painful last birthday when he prepared a three-layer cake, pancakes, chocolates, a cubic zirconium ring and a needlepoint kit and cried after she slept. For years that memory haunted him, and he hoped other birthdays would surface to bring smiles instead of tears. Last year, while reading Lori's diaries, he found a passage that helped shift his remembrance toward joy. He plans to celebrate Lori's birthday on December 24, embracing adventurous memories and cherishing the holidays anew.
Read at Business Insider
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