The Timeline of My Life Since Meeting Jim… My Late Husband

Just like you, my life has been filled with people, situations, and events that have shaped me into the complex individual I am today. This blog will tell stories of my life with my late husband, Jim, and our life together. I feel it’s important for you to understand some of the major events that took place before I became a widow.

Jim and I met, the very first time, in college. It wasn’t until two years into our relationship that we discovered we had mutual friends.

Fast forward to 1994 where we met again, in a quaint coastal town, while attending a fall harvest celebration. My friends and I were enjoying ourselves at a local eating and drinking establishment when one of my friends invited him to join us.

As he approached the booth where we were sitting, I felt like I had seen him before. It was then I asked him if he had attended the same university as me in the 1980’s. When he told me, yes, I knew we had seen each other before. Normally, I would never speak up and be so bold as to ask a stranger such a question, but there was something that drew me to him. This was the beginning of our long distance relationship.

Fast forward again, this time to 1996. The decision was made that I would relocate to Jim’s small town to be with him and his 5 year-old son. We wanted to start a life together as a family.

In 1999, after many years of getting to know each other, we decided to “tie the knot”. This was the best decision both of us had ever made. Jim had been married twice before and I’d had an extremely short marriage in my mid 20’s. Mine ended in divorce when my military ex-husband decided to have a “woman in every port”, shortly after our marriage ceremony.

One year later, our first blessed event took place, our youngest son was born. By this time, his “big brother” was almost 10 years old. This was a beautiful time in our lives! Unfortunately, three weeks after our son was born, tragedy struck… Jim collapsed in his classroom. He’d suffered a heart attack and no one thought he’d survive. This episode marked the beginning of many challenging and traumatic events in our lives.

We had six amazing years together as a family. Weekends were filled with archery and soccer tournaments, as well as other family activities. These few years provided us with the only memories we had together as a complete family.

Once again, fast forward to March 1, 2007. Jim, still teaching at the local high school, collapsed in his classroom, for a second time. This time it was due to a massive brain bleed that started as a severe headache. It eventually progressed to a hematoma, the accumulation of blood in his brain . Since he was on Coumadin, which is a blood thinner, his blood was not able to coagulate (clot), therefore the bleeding never stopped.

Unfortunately, when this tragic event took place, our town and the surrounding area was experiencing a snowstorm and blizzard, like no other. Due to the blizzard and wind conditions, the “Life Flight” helicopter was unable to transport Jim to the nearest trauma hospital, 80 miles away. He was transported by ambulance. He held onto hope as the ambulance drove as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, when he went into surgery to remove the hematoma, the anesthesia took over his physical will and he died that night.

It is here, with “Snowstorm and Blizzard…” that begin the inspirational stories.