Reply #30: Agreed. But sometimes I wonder what it must be like to have your personal tragedy

[grace0418]

splashed all over the news like that. I wonder what it must be like to know that, everywhere you go, almost everyone knows your sad news. On one hand, the outpouring of sympathy must be wonderful. But on the other hand it must be very difficult to have photogs in your face when you just want to be left alone to grieve, and to see images of yourself walking in and out of the hospital on the news and in the papers.

My dad died December 13th, 10 years ago. That Christmas, my husband and I were driving out to the burbs to celebrate with his side of the family. I knew that everyone on my husband's side would've heard that my dad died but may not have known all the details. As we drove, I remember not being able to decide which would be worse: being forced to retell the story over and over to each family member who asked, or having them ignore the topic in an effort to spare my feelings. Knowing I was going into a room where 30 people knew what was going on (but weren't directly involved) was very hard. Imagine that multiplied by thousands. :(