Events of the past few months have been interesting and at times unbelievable.
First it was the Mayor of London elections and my man, Ken Livingstone, won
convincingly. Then it was the European football championship and the 'minnows' Greece won. Surprise indeed.
Almost at the same time, deaths were being recorded. If my memory serves me
well, I have attended at least seven funerals just this year. This is alarming,
considering there seemed to be a lull last year in deaths in our community.
Generally the mortality rate is no longer high in the UK and we just seem
to cope with our illness. The fall in the death rate somehow made me feel
immortal and invincible until I had two near escapes. One was due to an inflamed
tummy and the second major surgery on my thigh. Thank gracious God I came
out of the operating theatre alive.
These past few months have been terrible as I have dwelt on my own susceptibility.
I know for sure many of my compatriots sometimes feel the same. I began to
question why this was happening and tried to come up with answers, which wasn't
easy. Death is always a very sad occurrence in life and no matter how many
lives are lost we never get used to it. Each time it strikes, people are shocked
and seem caught unawares even though the person who died may have been severely
ill. And each time it happens it makes you think again about your own mortality.
Human life is so precious that the mention of somebody dying just hits you
in the face. You try not to worry or feel pain but it's often impossible not
to. When someone dies it brings so many thoughts to mind. You start to think
about the surviving family members, children and partners. I remember praying
to God after my diagnosis that he would grant me just two years to live so
I could see my daughters grow into big girls. Instead he has given me five
years and this has motivated me to fight to live and feel I have a fundamental
right to life.
But as positive people with issues we must remember, deep down in our hearts,
death lurks around us all the time. It troubles me at times when people -
me included - feel this invincibility that all is well and say "we have crossed
the bridge" and there is no more dying. The truth is death is there and can
come at any time: from an ailment, a traffic accident or so many other causes.
We just have to be ready, though you can't really plan how to fend it off.
As
we gather soon in Leicester for our conference 'Changing Tomorrow', we need
to look critically at where we have come from and where we are going in terms
of longevity. We have to believe in living a long life just like others, even
though it's not easy. And people should be able to discuss these things in
the open so we can chart our way forward.
On a lighter note, a female friend recently remarked that death might be a
better alternative to escape hungry creditors - or wolves as I call them -
and it would after all mean an end to receiving those horrid reminders of
unpaid bills. Sometimes with the endless problems we encounter every day you
might wish your life was over, but the fact is we are here and we must celebrate
our future and soldier on to win new victories. To those newly diagnosed,
hope is the only thing that keeps man alive.
simwenda@aol.com
