Dear Friends and Followers of The Moon From My Attic...
I have the immensely sad duty to let this lovely community of artists and creative professionals know that on October 26, 2016, my best friend and wife Alex Colombo left her body behind. She has been fighting a prodigious war with a triple-negative breast cancer for the last three years. While initially mastering it, it metastasized this last spring in her lungs.
Her particular cancer is basically untreatable under traditional therapies, so she bravely became a member of the most promising alternative treatment research study we could find. While initially effective, other complications eventually overcame her efforts. As her doctor said, he has never seen a more diligent, committed human, not only willing to comply with whatever new change was required in diet, treatment, or procedure, but often suggesting improvements herself that have become part of the evolving protocol; she was the perfect research participant.
She approached her condition with the same conviction that she approached life; work hard, do the right thing, and try to help others. She kept the situation mostly to herself and to me, as she did not want to burden or stress out others.
She passed without any pain, and I was able to hold her in my arms as her heart and breathing stopped. While I am saddened beyond words and miss her terribly, I am also heartened to have been her partner in life, love, and happiness for the last decade. She brought so much into my life and the lives of all those she touched, in her selfless devotion to simply make the world a better place, help others grow and develop, and bring beauty into the world.
This blog itself was somewhat unplanned initially, but she quickly realized that it could allow her to bring her curiosity about others into the light, help her promote other artists, and build a community of sharing and appreciation for a discipline all too often undervalued. She has helped give voice and exposure to hundreds of artists in the process, and many of you have become her good friends.
One of her last requests to me was to encourage those who knew and loved her to try not to be too sad, but to instead try to remember her smile, her good works, and the delicate joy and happiness she tried to bring into the world. She much prefers the idea of a celebration - and she plans on seeing many of you again in her next life, so trust me, you better do it!
After a period of recovery, our daughter Ming Platt and I hope to honor Alex's dedication to promoting the creative process by continuing to give artists a chance to share their stories, their inspirations, and their insights into manifesting their creativity using this blog.
Alex, my dear wife and love, thank you for all you have done for me and for the world.
Her particular cancer is basically untreatable under traditional therapies, so she bravely became a member of the most promising alternative treatment research study we could find. While initially effective, other complications eventually overcame her efforts. As her doctor said, he has never seen a more diligent, committed human, not only willing to comply with whatever new change was required in diet, treatment, or procedure, but often suggesting improvements herself that have become part of the evolving protocol; she was the perfect research participant.
She approached her condition with the same conviction that she approached life; work hard, do the right thing, and try to help others. She kept the situation mostly to herself and to me, as she did not want to burden or stress out others.
She passed without any pain, and I was able to hold her in my arms as her heart and breathing stopped. While I am saddened beyond words and miss her terribly, I am also heartened to have been her partner in life, love, and happiness for the last decade. She brought so much into my life and the lives of all those she touched, in her selfless devotion to simply make the world a better place, help others grow and develop, and bring beauty into the world.
This blog itself was somewhat unplanned initially, but she quickly realized that it could allow her to bring her curiosity about others into the light, help her promote other artists, and build a community of sharing and appreciation for a discipline all too often undervalued. She has helped give voice and exposure to hundreds of artists in the process, and many of you have become her good friends.
One of her last requests to me was to encourage those who knew and loved her to try not to be too sad, but to instead try to remember her smile, her good works, and the delicate joy and happiness she tried to bring into the world. She much prefers the idea of a celebration - and she plans on seeing many of you again in her next life, so trust me, you better do it!
After a period of recovery, our daughter Ming Platt and I hope to honor Alex's dedication to promoting the creative process by continuing to give artists a chance to share their stories, their inspirations, and their insights into manifesting their creativity using this blog.
Alex, my dear wife and love, thank you for all you have done for me and for the world.
Your best friend and husband, P.
