When Linda got her cancer diagnosis, she had almost reached the finish line. She had built the beginnings of a retirement home near her beloved Santa Fe. She was just months from a full 30-year retirement. The only responsibility left was her mother, and she had vowed not to abandon her in Florida.

She was scared, though she rarely talked about it. She chose to live each day alone with her fear. To her friends and family, she refused to acknowledge the possibility of death. She would not sign an Advance Directive (in case her condition became terminal) and she dragged her feet on getting her will done.

In the end, with the help of her caring oncologist, Meredith and I made the decision to stop her treatment. She was unable to speak, and we didn't know what she understood. I will live the rest of my life with that terrible decision, a decision she never could – or, perhaps, would – have made for herself.