Kathy Burke

“I asked if it was okay to smoke, ‘I’d rather you didn’t as I have cancer.’ I was startled. I didn’t expect her to say that. Is that why she wanted to see me? ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I’m not going to die just yet, but once cancer gets a grip on your body you can no longer take life and time for granted.’ She continued to talk about doctors and procedures and moving to London permanently, but I had become very upset so she held me and stroked my head and soothed me like a mother. ‘It’s okay,’ she said quietly, ‘I’ve had an incredible life and if it ends before I become feeble then so much the better.’ As we said our goodbyes she cupped my face with her hands, smiled and twinkled with her beautiful, mischievous eyes, ‘Always remember to say it was me who found you. Me.’ I didn’t think anyone would be interested, but I always have.”
― Kathy Burke, A Mind of My Own