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Fans were shocked when “Alice” star Linda Lavin suddenly passed away on December 29th. She had just walked the red carpet and taped an episode for her upcoming series Mid-Century Modern, but how did she suddenly pass away from “complications from lung cancer”?
Now, her husband of almost 20 years, Steve Bakunas, opens up in a heartbreaking video about how he found out he had cancer and what the prognosis was. , revealing details such as what you were thinking hours or minutes ago. passed away.
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“I just wanted to tell her story and how it all unfolded,” a grieving Bakunas said in the approximately 17-minute video.
First, he revealed that he was diagnosed with lung cancer two months before his death when he underwent a CT scan to determine the cause of his wheezing.
Her doctor discovered two “golf ball-sized” lumps that tested positive for cancer. One of the lumps was obstructing her airway, and she also had cancer in other parts of her breast.
Although the news came as a shock, the couple was encouraged to try various treatments, including radiation. “All of a sudden, instead of it being a death sentence, we thought, ‘Wow, there are people who can live with lung cancer, and it’s possible,'” he says.
The weekend before the next series of tests, the couple enjoyed a low-key Christmas in a rented house in Malibu, and had invited Linda’s best friend, actress Barbara Wheatman, to join them.
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Sunday morning they woke up and Bakunas decided to make breakfast. The three played a little boggle, part of their ritual, but Rabin, 87, said, “I’m just having a bit of a hard time today,” and decided to go back to bed. An hour later she still felt sick, but when Steve offered to make her the roast she had planned to make, she was skeptical.
Lavin’s friend read for a while in bed, then Linda suggested the others take a walk on the beach. Another hour later, Steve and Barbara returned to find Lavin standing up and removing the roast from the oven. Hoping that she would feel better, Steve instead noticed that Rabin was sweating profusely and was advised by her doctor to drive her to Cedars-Sinai.
According to Steve, on the way, Lavin suddenly said, “Honey, I want you to live your life,” to which Lavin reassuringly replied, “Yes, honey, I’m living the best life I can.” That’s what it means.
“A few minutes later, she looked at me and said, ‘If I die, I want you to know that I love you very much,'” Bakunas said, choking. He said to her, “If you die, I’ll come with you.” ”
Within minutes, he noticed that her eyes were open but not moving. He stopped his car and performed CPR under the guidance of a 911 operator over the phone. Paramedics arrived shortly afterward and, as per protocol, treated her for 20 minutes on the sidewalk in front of the homeowner’s garage, but to no avail.
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The rest of the video includes details that people rarely talk about: the basics of what a survivor must do when a loved one dies unexpectedly and unexpectedly in an unexpected place. Contains content. “I felt so helpless,” he says.
But in the end, Bakunas says, “I think it would have been great if she had had some involvement in how this all ended. She wouldn’t have suffered so much… We were in a great place. We worked hard for our relationship… She gave me strength with that love… She knew she was going. I was there. ”
“She was a gift to me,” he continues. “To all of you who have experienced her love, I encourage you to continue to hold that love within yourself and to be encouraged as you are.”
In conclusion, he said: [things] “The real cause of her death was that her heart had given up on her, even though their love would never die.”