How we got here…

(originally posted in French in December, before the ceremony; translated to English in February)

Maybe it’s worth taking a few steps back in time, and tell you how we got to where we are today…

Carole was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2016. The blog she started will give you an idea of what happened following the diagnosis. Although the cancer underwent the normal treatment, it nevertheless spread to other organs after the summer. By October, Carole knew that she would finish her life with cancer, but that it could last several months, or even, with a little chance, years.

But in November, as she entered the hospital for planned chemotherapy, the doctors quickly realized that things were accelerating. On Wednesday, November 30th, they announced that it would be better to stop the treatment, and take advantage of the remaining weeks – or possibly months. But we barely had the time, the next day, to even imagine such moments – maybe go see the Ocean, that Carole loved so much? – that, on Friday 2nd in the morning, things started going haywire. My two Medium posts here and there will tell you more … Carole fell asleep in the late afternoon. She did not suffer, and, in the evening, her body stopped functioning altogether.

She saw the children one last time, thanks to the arrival of Bertrand, her brother, from Paris, whom she had informed of the situation, and who picked the children up from school. As for me, I had had the chance of spending the entire night of Thursday to Friday with her. She was also able to see her friends; her face lit up at the sight of a friend from the EPF. And, from Friday on, we were surrounded by friends and family, who took turns being by our side…

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