David Dyer

Artist Statement

My wife was diagnosed with stage 3 stomach cancer at age 54. There were no warning signs until we were hiking in Waimea Canyon on the Island of Kauai, Hawaii. We had taken the children (ages 13 and 17) to Hawaii for our 20th anniversary of our honeymoon. We were in the same location 20 years earlier and thought the children would enjoy the Christmas Holiday on the beach. During the hike my wife had a difficult time catching her breath and we decided to see a doctor as soon as we returned to Wisconsin. The diagnosis left us in a state of shock. One of the oncologists told us to take a trip to a location we had always wanted to visit. We thought that was an odd statement as we were convinced we were going to defeat the cancer and everything would be back to normal. My wife felt she wanted to go back to running her laboratory at UW Madison. She was a Professor in Entomology studying mosquitoes that cause some of the deadliest diseases and did not want to be bothered by cancer. Her passing was quick at 6 weeks from diagnosis to death. The devastation this leaves on the people left behind was tremendous. As life changed, I had no choice but to embrace what is called a “new normal”. There were large holes left in our lives that needed to be fixed. I did not understand this process would take years and could not be rushed. I leaned on my friends, and they helped me find my sense of peace again. The experience has given me the belief that everyday has value, so I try to use it to the fullest.