I can't believe the depth of sorrow we have felt these past two days.
When I read Charito's post, my heart broke again. I remember her well...talk about "" puppy love" ....they were great friends...
Perhaps the sincerity of her words convey a little of what the Dominican community expressed over the past 36 hours.
I was going to title this note "The Dominican Way of Dying"..it was an experience well worth sharing...it is called "cumpliendo" and never before have I experienced it this way.
I will cut an past what I have told many of my friends:
Marco died of complications resulting from his chemotherapy. Five sessions had done little to slow the cancer. A recent exploratory showed advancing cancer along the small intestine and on the wall of the intestinal membrane as well as a small tumor in his stomach wall. The decision was made to suspend the chemo treatments and to go to a second line therapy..one that would attack the cancer cells directly and add a different chemotherapy.
However, there was apparent secondary effects of the chemo and they affected the pericardio sac, causing cardiac arrythmia (irregular heartbeats) and occasional blackout spells.
the last blackout was the last one....he died in the arms of his wife and brother...no pain, no horrendous deterioration.....very quietly..
I thank God for the 33 years we had. A handfull as a child, no matter he spread joy with so many of his antics....
As a man, he was a great father, husband, son and brother. he was a champion golfer, a very successful busnessman and a great ambassador for the DR...
The funeral was a procession of this nation's great and small: real great and real small...It was so moving...and a tribute to a life well lived.
As for Charito, she knows where we are! Always welcome here.
To all of you that have posted along the two threads, my most sincere thanks, you have no idea how much it means.
According to Patricia, Marco's wife, he is now an angel and will be with us all the time. I hope God took him for a forth in this year's Heaven Tournament.
Luis
When I read Charito's post, my heart broke again. I remember her well...talk about "" puppy love" ....they were great friends...
Perhaps the sincerity of her words convey a little of what the Dominican community expressed over the past 36 hours.
I was going to title this note "The Dominican Way of Dying"..it was an experience well worth sharing...it is called "cumpliendo" and never before have I experienced it this way.
I will cut an past what I have told many of my friends:
Marco died of complications resulting from his chemotherapy. Five sessions had done little to slow the cancer. A recent exploratory showed advancing cancer along the small intestine and on the wall of the intestinal membrane as well as a small tumor in his stomach wall. The decision was made to suspend the chemo treatments and to go to a second line therapy..one that would attack the cancer cells directly and add a different chemotherapy.
However, there was apparent secondary effects of the chemo and they affected the pericardio sac, causing cardiac arrythmia (irregular heartbeats) and occasional blackout spells.
the last blackout was the last one....he died in the arms of his wife and brother...no pain, no horrendous deterioration.....very quietly..
I thank God for the 33 years we had. A handfull as a child, no matter he spread joy with so many of his antics....
As a man, he was a great father, husband, son and brother. he was a champion golfer, a very successful busnessman and a great ambassador for the DR...
The funeral was a procession of this nation's great and small: real great and real small...It was so moving...and a tribute to a life well lived.
As for Charito, she knows where we are! Always welcome here.
To all of you that have posted along the two threads, my most sincere thanks, you have no idea how much it means.
According to Patricia, Marco's wife, he is now an angel and will be with us all the time. I hope God took him for a forth in this year's Heaven Tournament.
Luis