14 months ago, my dear friend Jane was diagnosed with leukemia. Jane was so sick at the time of diagnosis that most people wouldn't have made it past the first week- Drs were amazed at her sheer will.
She endured 14 months of relentless treatment with a tenacity that we were all in awe of. Yet she was calm, focused on what needed to be done.
Jane was a healer herself, part of the sisterhood of nursing- she was strong; you always knew where she stood on issues and she stood up for what she believed in. She worked incredibly hard to put herself in the position where she could be part of the decision making on issues that would help nurses and patients.
She loved to party! We first met Jane and her soulmate Mick about 15 years ago- when we were renovating our home in Banksia Crt. I vividly remember the day Mick came over- to offer us their friendship and a helping hand... we lived in a cul de sac where a chat out the front could turn into drinks on the deck and then a meal. We had a wonderful 10 years in that home and that was largely down to our neighbours, including Mick and Jane.
When I first visited Jane in hospital I took a framed print of a photo of I had taken Flat Rock looking back towards her home.
She cried...
and asked me how I knew...
...this was her special place; it was where she went to contemplate life's big questions
...& if she found a cowrie shell, all would be good.
We said goodbye to Jane last week, she could fight no longer.
We cried and laughed and told great stories...
As Mick said,
'When I looked COURAGE up the dictionary it said,
mental or moral strength to persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty
but now it just says,
Jane
xxx
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written by matt barwick, January 23, 2012
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