How Fragile Life is..

During my project on the identity, my neighbours across the road from me, who I have known for over ten years needed me. 

Bob and Brenda are a lovely couple who have always been strong characters on our road, Bob who is Scottish and used to work in the movie business and Brenda who worked there too are a retired couple in their early seventies.

Bob suffers from Parkinson's and Brenda , who has always been the stronger one of the couple found out that she has cancer of the liver, which she told me last year. Its a very aggressive one and the doctors said it was terminal and all the chemo that Brenda had been going through did absolutely nothing.

Brenda had been sent home from the hospital after collapsing and was now just basically waiting to die. I would go over and help Bob with shopping etc and also sit with Brenda while she told me how scared she was of dying - what do you say to someone who tells you that?!!

After a week in bed, it came apparent that Brenda was getting worse and she was finally sent to the hospice. I helped Bob with all the washing, made his beds and drove him to and fro the Farleigh's in Broomfield.

The whole situation is understandably sad but when I was involved with this and trying to do my project on masks and identity, I began to find everything very hard and tiring.

I looked up artists and grief and the emotions of the someone who is losing a loved one, also the stages of grief and what we will all go through at some point in our lives.

I saw this picture that looked like Brenda, while she gasped for air in her bed.