Nora Bullock

Sending deepest condolences to Nora's family. May they find comfort in their hapoy memories of her.
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I wrote this the day Nora passed...

The world has lost a very special lady today... Nora, a coworker and friend of mine for the past eleven years passed away today after her second round of fighting breast cancer.

I had last seen Nora a few weeks ago when I had stopped by the veterinarian's office to pick up my cat's medicine. As soon as I saw her, I knew right away that her cancer had returned. Her hair was thin and very short. She looked unhappy, exhausted, sickly and underweight.

We talked for about ten minutes. She told me that she had kept a greeting card that I had given her the first time she had cancer. The card contained a poem called "The Oak Tree" that was about an oak tree that remained strong despite the wind's greatest efforts to knock it down. Nora said that the poem had been a source of inspiration to her and that she was grateful I had given it to her.

She told me that she wasn't sure if she would survive cancer the second time around. I was surprised to hear her say that because she had always been so positive. In retrospect, I'm guessing that she might have known her chance of survival was unlikely. At one point we both cried and hugged each other. She held on to me a bit longer than the average friendly hug... and now I know why: She probably knew she would never see me again....

Seeing Nora that day was not a "chance" meeting and am thankful that we had the opportunity to say goodbye.