Only two years after receiving a diagnosis for incurable cancer, a 35-year-old Nova Scotia woman died last week – but not before writing her own, remarkably upbeat obituary.
Bailey Jean Matheson, who grew up in Cape Breton, started the notice with: “Thirty-five years may not seem long, but damn it was good!”
She thanked her parents, Sandy and Wendy, for supporting her decision to stop chemotherapy treatments, even though she recognized the decision must have been difficult for them.
“I always remember my mom saying losing a child would be the hardest loss a parent could go through,” she wrote.
“My parents gave me the greatest gift of supporting my decisions … and just letting me live the rest of my life the way I believed it should be.”
READ MORE: Nova Scotia teen searching for bone marrow match dies
Matheson, an only child, also thanked her friends for their unconditional love through such a trying time.
And she made a point of mentioning that her boyfriend, Brent Andrews, came into her life only three months before her diagnosis.
“You had no idea what you were getting yourself into when you swiped right that day,” she wrote.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better man to be by my side for all the adventures, appointments, laughs, cries and breakdowns. You are an amazing person and anyone in your life is so fortunate to know you. I love you beyond words.”