Monday 2 April 2012
This is what my sister sees from her window each morning - the ferry arriving from Dieppe. Not included is the sound of scrap metal being loaded onto a ship - constant metallic booming. I've shut the windows to keep it out.
My sister is in the last stages of terminal cancer. I flew back from Valencia yesterday to be with her. I spent several months here during the winter as she was told last July that she wouldn't survive the disease. The doctor said that she probably wouldn't make it to November and yet here she is.
She and her daughter looked out for my dad so M and I came down to take the load off them.
I got to visit my sister almost every day - we've seen more of each other in the last few months than we have over many years, mainly due to my travelling and her (and the rest of the family) being staunch stay-at-homes. It gave me a chance to see a lot more of my brothers and the extended family which has been good but also a trial at times - families, and all that.
She can no longer speak most of the time and she has a mechanical driver administering drugs. Nurses and carers come in several times a day to keep her as comfortable as possible.
There have been lots of tears but some laughter too. Now we stay with her, talk to her and just let her know that we are with her.
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