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It's hard to imagine what she must be going through.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Mar 27, 2022
A woman’s husband has been suffering from cancer recently and the treatment has made her recall the wedding vows that she made all that time ago.
In her vows, she shared a special secret that no one else, not even her husband, caught onto. And now, as her husband prepares to die, she now plans to follow through on this painful vow.
The woman has vowed to die by suicide when her husband passes away.
On the subreddit “r/TrueOffMyChest,” Redditors have a safe space where they’re allowed to get whatever they want “off their chest” just to have a place to share their thoughts and feelings.
“A place to get personal things off your chest. Not for opinions, not for relationship advice, and not for preaching,” says the subreddit’s About section. “A place for people who need to speak their mind.”
This Redditor’s husband may succumb to the cancer that he’s been suffering from, and as such, she has revealed that she plans to leave with him if he goes.
“I told him in the wedding vows I wrote that my heart will be with him wherever he goes,” she starts the post. “Those weren't just words that play well for wedding guests. I have always taken my vows seriously.”
She goes deeper, explaining that her husband is really the only person in her life who matters so deeply to her — thus justifying that she won’t be hurting anyone else by leaving either.
“My old family rejected me a long time ago. We have no children. He is the only family I have,” she writes. “And I am watching cancer eat him alive. But he doesn't know there is more than one life on the line.”
Her resolve is chilling as the beautifully harrowing message she is relaying shows how much thought she’s put into what she’s willing to do.
“If the cancer takes him, I will do every duty I have to him. I'll make the arrangements and ensure he is sent off in the way he wants,” she explains.
“I'll go to the funeral and pour my heart into telling him goodbye. But the guests won't know then that it is a temporary goodbye.”
She calls back a bottle of pills she brought up earlier and says that she’d “down” the bottle after the funeral and that she “will not let him go alone.”
While you might expect the comments to be full of “suicide is never the answer” explanations, the Redditors who posted in the discussion were way more thoughtful and sympathetic than expected.
The situation is painfully nuanced, and while everyone recognized that the woman deserves to live a long life spurred on by the memory of her husband, commentors at least understood that the woman is facing a deeply painful situation.
“I want to say something profoundly helpful,” wrote the top comment, “but I think I relate a little too much to being tethered to life by just one other soul. If anything, I feel a little less alone.”
The thought of losing the one person you love the most is profound and accompanied by the comforting words, “your life matters on its own, too.”
Many people shared their own experiences from both ends — cancer survivors and widow/ers — all saying something similar.
Sympathizing, but admitting that the result of her actions might not be what her husband truly wants.
There are several comments that mention some sort of counseling or professional help as well, to get through whatever trauma she might experience.
But ultimately, the kindness and compassion that she has been shown by these random strangers on the internet is a testament to the humanity that still exists.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.