“You could say they rescued each other,” Helen offers. “He became the parent she thought she’d lost, and she became the child he didn’t know he needed. She gave him a purpose beyond himself. His years with her were some of the happiest of his life. Even on his most grueling days, she was like a light in the darkness.”
But not long after William was diagnosed, Delilah became sick, as well.
“It was almost like she tried to take away some of his burden,” Helen describes. “Pretty soon, she started failing, too. She died a few weeks before him, and that’s when it seemed like he started giving up. He had been holding on to care for her—being her lifeline, just like she was his. But once she was gone, I think he lost his will to live.”
A long silence fills the room, until Dad speaks up.
“Ther
