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Disney Animator Draws Pictures On What It's Like Living Without His Wife And His Story Will Bring You To Tears

by Elzaan Van der merwe

A lot of people keep diaries and I'm sure every woman as a teenager kept a diary to express her feelings and thoughts when she couldn't tell her secrets to anybody. 

Those were the good days, but still today there are people that believe in journaling every detail of their lives, whether it's to remember when they are old or to just focus their feelings on the positive things in life. 

This is exactly what Gary Andrews, former Disney illustrator does. He started doing it on his 54th birthday, but instead of writing, he drew pictures and scenarios of himself, his children and his beautiful wife.

Little did Gary know that his life was going to change forever!

He was in Canada for work and while he was there his wife got terribly sick and they thought she just had a bad case of the flu. 

But they later realized she had a serious condition and Gary immediately got on a plane back to the UK to support his wife.

Unfortunately, he arrived too late and was informed that she passed away from Sepsis upon his arrival at the UK airport.

This left Gary utterly devastated, because not only was his wife deceased, it also happened so quickly that he was still in massive shock. He struggled to grieve and let his feelings out, so he did the thing he knew best.

He opened his notebook and started drawing. "I was crying so hard it was difficult to focus on the page. I was drawing through tears," he said. "Joy had been my soulmate for 19 years. She was beautiful, kind, generous and funny. We did everything together. When I lost her, I felt half of me had gone."

To this day Gary is still grieving and using his doodles to soothe his mind, heart, and feelings. It is a way for him to express himself and his drawings regularly include his wife and what it's like being a single parent and raising daughters without their mother.

Gary's only hope now is to raise awareness on the silent killer that is Sepsis. It is masked by the symptoms of the flu and is only caught when it's too late. He is not angry at anyone for what happened to his wife Joy, but he rather wants to help doctors catch it quicker. 

"From the minute Joy was admitted to hospital, specialists from every department tried to find out what was wrong," he said. "They couldn't have done more. It wasn't until the post-mortem that they narrowed it down to sepsis."

"Blame and 'what ifs' won't bring Joy back. Would she still be alive if I hadn't been in Canada and a doctor had been called a day earlier? I can't think about things like that. What happened has happened and you just have to come to terms with it. I just want to move forward, to honor Joy's memory and bring up our kids in a way she would have approved of."

Have a look down below at some of his doodles and be prepared to get your tissues out.



Gary and his beautiful wife Joy

Gary and his beautiful wife JoyTwitter

These are the doodles he drew to deal with his wife's death.

His girl is his hero

His girl is his heroTwitter

She truly made her mom laugh with that one

She truly made her mom laugh with that oneTwitter

They say time heals all wounds, hang in there.

They say time heals all wounds, hang in there.Twitter

It's difficult when children lose their mother so young

It's difficult when children lose their mother so youngTwitter

When it's too empty

When it's too emptyTwitter

"Forever in my heart"

Twitter

Hits you when you least expect it

Hits you when you least expect itTwitter

Proud moments call for family celebrations

Proud moments call for family celebrationsTwitter

There will always be hope

There will always be hopeTwitter

Very bad idea

Very bad ideaTwitter

Only crazy people thinks it's easy

Only crazy people thinks it's easyTwitter

She became his guardian angel

She became his guardian angelTwitter

They grow up so fast

They grow up so fastTwitter

Grieving is a healthy part of life

Grieving is a healthy part of lifeTwitter

"Time to start healing..."

Twitter

"Love. Always."

Twitter

And then the anger starts

And then the anger startsTwitter

When smiled turn into tears

When smiled turn into tearsTwitter

Welcome to Saturday's

Welcome to Saturday'sTwitter

Only 10 and making her own special memories

Only 10 and making her own special memoriesTwitter

"Always with me"

Twitter

You are doing great!

You are doing great!Twitter

Little situations can make you miss your special person so much

Little situations can make you miss your special person so muchTwitter

He felt her right then and there

He felt her right then and thereTwitter

He is blessed and getting better

He is blessed and getting betterTwitter

"And so we heal"

Twitter

What a strong man

What a strong manTwitter

He rode it well, until the end

He rode it well, until the endTwitter

When he realized what he has and that he can move on now

When he realized what he has and that he can move on nowTwitter

Light at the end of the tunnel

Light at the end of the tunnelTwitter

It's okay, you can let it come out

It's okay, you can let it come outTwitter

The funny has finally poke it's head out

The funny has finally poke it's head outTwitter

Music helps the grieving process

Music helps the grieving processTwitter

"Creating new traditions"

Twitter

She will always be there for you

She will always be there for youTwitter

Good job!

Good job!Twitter

When food becomes your comfort

When food becomes your comfortTwitter

Sometimes you forget to take care of yourself

Sometimes you forget to take care of yourselfTwitter

"Chips of the old blocks"

Twitter

New rules for their new life

New rules for their new lifeTwitter

Sleeping in a empty bed sucks

Sleeping in a empty bed sucksTwitter

He knows she is never far away

He knows she is never far awayTwitter

You can always tell her about your day, she will listen somehow

You can always tell her about your day, she will listen somehowTwitter

The world came back to life

The world came back to lifeTwitter

Grief sucks!

Grief sucks!Twitter

Atleast the kids are happy

Atleast the kids are happyTwitter

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