Health | Cancer | Memoir
The Day After My Wife’s Cancer Diagnosis
14 April 2010 — the start of treatment
At last, it was morning.
It had been a short night of cold sweats punctuated by brief pockets of restless sleep. I felt dazed, hyperactive, and exhausted all at the same time.
The previous evening’s devastating news — that my wife had cancer — was yet to sink in.
I felt so helpless. I needed to be doing something to distract myself from an underlying sense of fear and dread.
Spreading the news
First thing in the morning, I emailed several people at work; perhaps I thought one of them possessed a magic cure.
A little later, I took my five-year-old son to school. We arrived three minutes late, which was very unusual for us. But it was far from being our usual sort of day.
I broke the news to the head teacher and classroom assistant. Then I dashed to the nursery with my four-year-old son.
Next, I returned home briefly. While there, I chatted with the elderly lady across the road for fifteen minutes.
I was not usually so talkative, but I felt compelled to share the news far and wide.
