Preserving Memories of a Loved One?

An anonymous reader writes "My wife is dying of metastatic (stage 4) cancer. Statistically she has between one and two years left. I have pre-teen daughters. I'm looking for innovative ideas on how to preserve memories of their mother and my wife so that years down the road we don't forget the things we all tend to forget about a person as time passes. I have copious photos and am taking as much HD video as I can without being a jerk, so images and sounds are taken care of (and backed up securely). I'm keeping a private blog of simple daily events that help me remember the things in between the hospitalizations and treatments. In this digital age what other avenues are there for preserving memories? Non-digital suggestions would be welcome, too."

Comments

Hoping for a miracle cure?

[Vlad_the_Inhaler]

Around 20 years ago, some friends of mine had a visit from friends of theirs, friends with two small kids.

A few months later I heard that the wife, the mother of those kids had advanced inoperable cancer and a matter of months to live. I don't know what kind of cancer. What she apparently did was to visit several doctors going for second opinions on alternative ways of fighting it. The road she took was dietary, I believe she cut virtually everything containing sugar out of her diet. This meant preparing everything herself so she knew exactly what she was eating. The next time I saw this woman was 9 years ago, her two tiny kids were teenagers. She herself was thin but not to the point of being emaciated, and was in full remission. She was still maintaining her diet with iron discipline.

The friends of mine have moved away and I don't get to see them much nowadays but I asked 5 years ago and she was still going strong.

What would prevent a doctor suggesting this route?

• They don't know about it?
• There is nothing in it for them? (that is being nasty)
• Doctors are taught to heal by 'doing something'. That can be surgery or drugs. This does not fit the pattern. It is also completely passing responsibility for the treatment on to the patient.
• Liability issues. If someone does not maintain their diet, will their relatives lie about it and sue? I imagine that is a major problem in the US.
• The doctor who suggested this path told her that the chances of success were not that high. As far as she was concerned, 20% (this is what I remember from 18 years ago) was better than 0%.

Best of luck to you and your family.