In memory of Jessie Manson
In the end it was all so quick. Jessie had been terminally ill for nearly 3 years
but all those unexpected extra Christmas and New Year and birthday evenings now seem so precious.
We never dwelled on what might happen or if it was to be the last. We would all drink and
laugh and be very merry and silly. Jessie would always disappear just after 9pm and gradually
a feast of buffet style treats would appear as if by magic. She did this despite the surgery to
remove the growth in the bowel and the hundreds of tablets that she had to take for chemo.
I can still see the excitement on her face when we took her to see Bon Jovi at
Hampden Park in June 2001. What a great day we had. She also managed to see Meat Loaf early in 2004,
someone I haven't been lucky enough to see, despite the cancer spreading to her liver.
When we last saw her on Friday 7th May, she was thinner and spoke very softly but
her sense of fun and love and interest in everything Ally and I were doing remained undiminished.
One week later she took a turn for the worse and was admitted to the Victoria Hospice, Kirkcaldy.
It was then all so sudden, the cancer had probably reached the brain and 10 days later she slipped away.
I did not regret not visiting and seeing her drugged sleep as I wanted to remember
my dear cousin's wife, Jessie being with me and living life to the full.
Marion Spence
15th October 2004
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