Before I wear out my welcome. . . the final and penultimate catharsis: Family! Brian was the first of our original three kids (Chris came along somewhat later to keep things fun and interesting). As such, he was our first to go to college, first to break his neck (thankfully no others did), the first to get a Masters degree (even before I got mine), and the first to fly the nest. Lots and lots of hopes and dreams, most of which were not easy, but often fulfilled in spite of his disability. Dont get me wrong, he was far from perfect, but he made me proud so many times, Ive long since lost count (not including the time he earnestly wanted to please us when he was 8 by washing his Mothers dark painted Caravan with a wax filled floor mop- not pretty) Anyway, through it all I like to think it was family who got us through the worst of times, and capitalized on the best of times, and there were many. What makes me especially sad for him is the way things pretty much spun out of control for him in the end. His life became progressively harder when his growing illness claimed his mind, his home, and his verve for life. He came to think things were all stacked against him, and in many ways, they were because able bodied people have absolutely no concept of how to cope with, or even help the disabled. Its just alien. His heart literally gave out in the end, whether it was because of my familys suspect heart history, or because of authority figures who felt threatened by a gimp in a wheelchair, or as the coroner listed on the death certificate- Accidental Death of Coronary Arrythmia. The accident he was referring to was his broken neck, it just took him 19 years to die from it. There, Im done, and Ive found a sense of balance in the course of the past year since Brians death, but it hasnt been without a multitude of letters written to authorities and investigators that received incredibly few answers until I asked for, and received, Senator Jim Mathias willingness to see what he could do to elicit a response. Thanks Jim, youve got my vote. The silence of everyone else involved was deafening. It seems that the concensus is that Brian died of natural causes. I can live with that, and I can almost understand it having experienced this year long journey. Ive still got my family, and Brian is finally at peace.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 01:15:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015