An Impossible Subject

One of the reasons I began this blog was to write about this very difficult subject.  It's taken me 14 posts to get here.  I've been avoiding it at all costs.

I suppose the primary reason is because it's painful for me.  Also, it can be difficult for the reader.  Often we go to books, blogs, and websites for happy or good feelings, or perhaps informative subjects...not to hear about someone else's pain.

On Halloween morning, 2015, my sister found my oldest son, Anthony, dead in my apartment.  He was 36 years old.  Anthony had been suffering from ulcerative colitis for ten years.

For approximately six of those years, he was able to function quite well, and had manageable flare-ups from time to time.

When his disease progressed he returned to California and stayed in my apartment.  At this point I was spending most of my time in Arizona, but returned to CA often to help him and do whatever I could to make his life easier.

Anthony underwent two surgeries; one to remove his large intestine and replace it with an ileostomy bag.  He had this for one year.  The follow-up surgery was to make a pouch out of his small intestine to act as the large intestine.  It was successful and all should have been well.  However, my dear son did not follow correct protocol regarding diet and other activities and passed away from cardiac arrest. 

Anthony was born and raised in California, and fishing and sailing were his life. He began his sailing adventures at age 12 through the local chapter of Sea Scouts, a branch of the Boy Scouts. He was a natural.  The Sea Scout leader even gave Anthony a key (knowing his dad was working next door) to the boat so he could work on it during off-hours.

At age 22, Anthony moved to Kennebunkport, Maine and began his life as a fisherman, lobsterman, and sailor.

Anthony loved being on the ocean and loved every second he was on the sea.  He made quite a few friends in Maine and was highly respected in his field and sought after by other fishermen.

During the fishing off-season, Anthony was a first mate on a large yacht owned by a wealthy businessman from New York City.  He was lucky enough to sail across the Atlantic to Italy and several other European countries, as well as various Caribbean islands. This is exactly what he wanted to do at this time in his young life.  He was living his dream. 

My belief is that Anthony is now on to his new adventure in his new "life".