By Mariah Sandoval whose husband died in a work accident in October 2018. Photo by @beingmrsparry
1. I am so grateful that we casually discussed throughout our lives what our wishes would be if our new reality was that our body was failing and life would never be as we knew it before. Because of these discussions, I had the confidence to make the best choice for my husband.
2. I decided that my young children’s last memory of their father would not be of him laying in a hospital bed hooked to tubes and machines with a failing body.
3. Courage is getting up everyday and deciding to not allow this situation to break my spirit or my family. To give my children an amazing life full of joy, laughter and happiness because that’s what they deserve (even more so now that they have lost their father).
4. Everything, but especially the small insignificant stuff, would be painful to cope with as the days and months march on. Nothing. Is. Safe. From. The. Grief.
5. Using the words unfair and robbed just caused more sadness and anger. As with most things in life, attitude is key to getting through each moment and sometimes those moments feel impossible to get through but alas they do pass.
About Mariah Sandoval
Mariah’s husband, Paul, was unexpectedly killed in a work accident in October 2018. They’d been married for 10 years and have three young boys together. They enjoyed travelling the world, renovating a house and had a great marriage. Mariah and her boys now live in San Diego with her mum, whilst she works on figuring out what comes next. She uses Instagram to help deal with her grief journey and has found an amazing community of support. You can follow Mariah on Instagram.
