It was supposed to be the flu that had my husband down. He had been to the doctor and we were to pick up our little girl from school that evening. My cell phone rang and the doctor wanted to see us both in his office as soon as possible. With a worried look on our faces we went to the office and was advised to sit down. A pin could have been heard when the silence took over. The doctor looked at us and proceeded to tell us that my husband had some tumors in his liver. The doctor wanted to send us to a specialist to see if this was cancer or not. Not knowing how or what to say we left the office stunned. The first thing that came out of my husband mouth was to offer me a divorce,I wouldn't hear of it. I responded back,"Until death do us part!" I was very dedicated to our marriage. We went to pick up our little girl and drove home quietly.

A week later we were sent to a specialist that ran a test to confirm that he had cancer. We were immediately sent to chemotherapy and radiation treatments. We had his two oldest children
to our house for a family gathering to discuss the plans of his treatments. They did manage to go to a few of the doctors visits to hear the plans but never took the time to be with him
during his treatments. We made the appointments early enough so that I could take the little one to school. I would leave go pick my husband up and go to his treatments and then drop him off at home. I would go pick up Kayla from school and come home to cook dinner. It felt like I was in a whole new life. My priorities had to be changed so our little girl would not be neglected as well as taking care of my husband.

By the fourth month he had to be admitted to the psych ward at the hospital after they had done a cat scan and had found some unidentifiable spots in his brain. Hoping that these spots were mini-strokes he needed a little help facing death. He stayed in the hospital for a week and came home. I noticed when we had to go to the store that I was having to hold to him to keep his balance. Then I was having to help him to the bathroom and to the bed. I had finally took over the driving because he was not in the greatest of health. He had dropped a tremendous amount of weight so he looked like skin and bones. His hair had all fallen out and when it grew back it was as white as snow.

The fifth month was upon us and once again he was hospitalized because his potassium level had fell to a dangerous level. When he came home I had put his pillow on the couch so he could lay down and watch television. I could see that he wasn't doing any better and that he was sleeping more than usual. By the end of the month I had taken him back to the hospital fearing the worst. Sure enough, Wayne had come down with pneumonia. While he was laying in the emergency room my cell phone rang. The doctor had confirmed that the spots they had found were cancer and that he had numerous others in the brain. So, I had him transferred to the other hospital and they admitted him right away. He was dead with in a week. He died after he went into coma and so I thank God that he didn't have to suffer.

Here I was 39 years old with a six year old child to raise on my own. The thought was so overwhelming for me. Before my husband died he wouldn't take care of the personal issues at hand. I had to fight with his two kids just to keep what I had. I didn't have any problems sharing but I wasn't going to leave without some security either. I have done what needed to be done to make sure I could finish raising our little girl.

Learn more about this author, Syndi Bohnert.
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