Somedays the crushing pain of loss is too much. Then I remember the words spoken to me so many times and I hear them in my head and I am comforted ~ It is what it is... always and forever...
Jason "Doc" Gerbino
Beloved partner, stepfather, son-in-law, soul mate and best friend
June 8, 1941 - June 8, 2010
It is with almost unbearable grief that I share with you the news of
Doc's passing. Doc left quietly this afternoon, on his 69th birthday.
He went peacefully without pain, with me holding his hand, as he had
requested and I had promised.
If I have left anyone off this list it is inadvertent and my error,
not his. I do not know if I have included all the email addresses I
should have, and/or if all the addresses I have are current. So
please feel free to forward this message, or post it IN ITS ENTIRETY,
and/or to share the news of his passing. HOWEVER, I will be posting a
detailed obit later on and respectfully ask that everyone, including
any of the groups to which he belonged, refrain from writing their own
in advance of mine. He gave me that right and I want to exercise it,
but did not want news of his passing to reach his friends from someone
other than me.
While Doc's eventual death from pancreatic cancer was almost certain,
it was a shock to have it happen so quickly. His last round of chemo
left him severely malnourished and with an undiagnosed case of
pneumonia (asymptomatic due to his suppressed immune system). Doc
collapsed at home on Saturday, May 29, and was admitted to the
hospital that day. While they were able to cure the pneumonia over
the next 4 days, his lung function did not improve, and he was stuck
in a holding pattern, not getting worse but unable to get better.
On Friday, June 4th, he made the decision that he was too tired to
continue fighting, that he was no longer willing to continue in pain,
and that he did not want to be separated from me from then on. Per
his wishes and with his agreement he was moved to hospice care (same
ward, different room) on Monday, June 7th. I held his hand
continuously until he passed away at 4pm, today, June 8, 2010, on the
69th anniversary of his birth.
Per his wishes he will be cremated, and there will be no service. On
June 8, 2011 (a year from today) I will scatter his ashes during a
ride along the Blue Ridge Parkway, in celebration of his life and love
of riding. Any and all are welcome to join me at that time.
I've been asked about flowers etc-- in lieu of flowers or cards I
would request that a donation of any size be made, in his memory, to
the Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation (link below). They have
developed a cure for pancreatic cancer that has been 100% successful
in all tests so far, including the current large animal tests, and
will be starting human trials in 2012. It was Doc's hope to live long
enough to participate-- he even had obtained a recommendation for
participation in the trials from a prominent biliary cancer surgeon--
but it was not to be. However, the more money they receive, the
sooner the required FDA testing and licensing can go through, the
sooner the human trials can begin, and the sooner another family may
be able to avoid this grief.
http://www.kanziuscancerresearch.com/supportthiscause-p-163.html
For those of you who were my friends as well as his, it would comfort
me greatly to see a candle lit for him here:
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=Doc
I would like to share with everyone how very surprised and touched he
was when he was first hospitalized in NC and so many people went out
of their way to call him or email him or send best wishes. He never
knew how many people considered him a friend until that time, and he
was moved to tears. He repeated several times to me how much he
appreciated it, so I hope everyone that went out of their way to show
that they cared can somehow receive his thanks via this note.
With gratitude for all the kind words, the prayers, the caring, the
sharing, and all the fun times, on his behalf I thank you all.
He was the most noble human being I have ever had the honor to know.
He was my soul mate, the light of my life, my lover, my partner, and
my best friend for the past 28 years.
I will miss him forever.
--Jeri aka Doc's Cat
http://www.docsharleypages.com/
~Doc and his most cherished loves of his life~
~ his Cat & Zach ~
Doc, I pray you've found your peace...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
i can't imagine a world without you, Sir...
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