Drake Shares

 

Perry Drake was so very gracious in sharing his grief over the loss of his incredible wife Rhonda, This blog captures the essence of two social media communications from Perry.

They say it will get easier as time goes on. I certainly hope so. Losing a parent/sibling is tough but losing a spouse/life partner is just different. It is like losing a part of yourself. You feel at a loss in so many ways. Rhonda was such a huge part of who I am and became. She was my compass. She instilled in me so many great values. We were a team for 35+ years. She was the first person I saw in the morning when we woke up (okay, on occasion it might have been Taco or Peanut) and the last person I saw before we went to sleep.

I am not looking forward to Monday's service. I am so nervous and scared. I am afraid the pain will be unbearable facing the reality of it all. Could it be worse than than the past three weeks? But one thing is for certain, I am surrounded by so many great friends, family and colleagues. I remember one thing the Pastor told me this past Monday when meeting with him to chat about the upcoming service ....he said, "Just know that everyone at the service will be rooting for you Perry, they are all on your side. So do not worry." That provided such comfort.

The picture is Rhonda at her birthday dinner on October 13, 2017. I forgot the name of the restaurant. She picked. Isn't she beautiful? And, this was just one year after being diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Over these 5 years, she endured many operations, scans, brain radiation, emergency room visits, and weekly Chemo from that point onward until she passed away just two weeks ago. She was a fighter. Never giving up. Not even till the end. I am proud of her. Till Monday, this will be my last post. Love to you all.

 

On Sunday June 13th at 5:33 pm Rhonda Drake, my wife of 35+ years, passed away. She could no longer fight off the effects of her stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and all those chemo drugs. This all occurred while on vacation in Destin, Florida. What was supposed to be a two-week escape for Rhonda from cancer ended up being anything but. Her kidneys failed day two here in Destin and she never fully recovered. We had to put her under, use the support of a breathing tube and connect her with dialysis for three days. It was a nightmare that lasted a total of 9 days.

On Saturday the 12th she was somewhat energetic and looked good. She asked to sit in the guest chair (below), was a bit more talkative than usual and ate some apple sauce and ice cream that I fed her. It was a hopeful sign that we would be able to get her stable enough to transport her back to St. Louis. Little did I realize this is what some call a “medical rally” that occurs right before death…the brain signaling the body to go, go, go one last time.

I snapped this picture of her, I told her she looked like a female version of Mahatma Gandhi. She smiled. I will miss her fiercely. She was my rock, my compass, and is the whole reason I am who I am today. Like a caterpillar transforms to a butterfly, Rhonda too has risen to the heavens. Please scroll through her wall to see the love she had for her butterfly garden, nature, her little dogs Taco and Peanut, and God.