Photo gallery: Celebrating life – Saturdays with Rudy

I read “Tuesdays with Morrie” some time ago about a former student visiting his professor who was dying from Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS).

For the last six months I’ve been visiting a friend in hospital dying from AIDS on Saturdays after lunch. It became a routine: bike ride, market, Rudy. There is little that is honourable, decent or dignifying about AIDS and watching the slow deterioration in this friend has been agonising.

Like in the story, I enjoyed immensely the time we had together, even though Rudy was no philosophiser on life. His face would light up when he saw me, he’d whinge and complain about family members to me in confidence and we’d go downstairs in his wheelchair so he could smoke away to his heart’s content. Yes I took him – why should he have been denied a few simple joys in his last months? A nip of Baileys and a good dose of chocolate were our other great shared joys.

We talked of our lives, compared travel notes, watched TV together, made jokes about the food they served at the hospital and really had a great time together. In that triviality about the nuts and bolts of life was great meaning.

Rudy passed away this morning at 8am. He was fun and a laugh but above all compassionate, faithful and a decent human being.

May you be at peace Rudy.

All that is bright, happy, colourful and wonderful in this world I dedicate to you, including these images celebrating life.