Before succumbing to cancer last week, Massachusetts mother of two Beth O'Rourke wrote her own eloquent and heartbreaking obituary, which has since gone viral.
"I died Thursday, April 16, 2015 surrounded by family, in the arms of my husband and anam cara [soul mate], Brendan Patrick O'Rourke," O’Rourke wrote in her obit posted on Legacy.com. "I was 44 years old. I was a survivor. I was blessed in this life with two amazing children: Courtney Elizabeth age 11 and Seamus Brendan age 8."
Seven years ago, the nurse practitioner was diagnosed with stage four biliary cancer. O'Rourke thanked her doctors and nurses for their support during the years she battled the disease. "You always saw me as a person and not a statistic," she wrote. "It was not easy for me to be a care receiver, but we forged a path for me that brought me further than most would have imagined. Nursing was my calling, during my career I had the honor and privilege, to care for patients who were amazing people; they often gave me the strength and courage to get through my journey and the desire to return to the work of caring for others. I hope I was able to give them a fraction of what they gave me."
O'Rourke shared some of the things she will miss most. "I LOVED my life. I loved a long run, to sit quietly by the lake, to read and dance and sing and be silly with our children," she shared. "We loved watching summer storms blow across the water. I loved to chat and laugh with my sisters and friends, until tears ran down our legs! Brendan and I enjoyed many trips together… I enjoyed working for a cause, among them, the Pancreatic Cancer Alliance, whose members' spirit and dedication amazed me."
Nothing, however, compared to her role as a wife and a mother to her kids. "I fought every day to stay alive and to be with them," she wrote. "No person could ever ask for a more loving and supportive husband, always my champion, always. I enjoyed every moment we shared; the great ones, the sad ones, the easy and the hard. I pray they have learned to feel the deep sense of faith that I shared. No matter where this journey brings me next, I will forever carry their love with me, as I am sure there is a piece of me that will forever remain with them."
O'Rourke wrote that her illness, unfortunately, was ruthless in its randomness. "Cancer does not care who it takes, who it hurts, or honor or love," she wrote. "It comes into your life and starts to break the threads that hold you and you are left to see pieces of yourself slip away and dreams fade. We were clung only to each other with pure love and faith binding us, in the end is when the most amazing thing happens, cancer loses its strength and grace appears. We need to see it. We accept it, and go with it. Grace and love win, not cancer."
O'Rourke was remembered this past Tuesday, April 21 in a memorial at the family's local church in Paxton, Mass. In the footer of her note, she asked for readers to honor her legacy and love for her family by contributing to the GoFundMe page, which seeks to raise money for her kids' future educations. In just 13 days, the donations have reached over $21,000.
"Forgive someone today and fill that spot with love," she concluded in her obit.
