A dying B.C. man said goodbye to his friends and family at his own "living wake" on Saturday afternoon. Old friends and family, some he hasn鈥檛 seen in 25 years, gathered at a casual New Westminster, B.C. pub for face-to-face goodbyes. For Chris Walters, having a 鈥渓iving wake鈥� just makes sense.
鈥淚 like to be the centre of attention,鈥� he joked to CTV Vancouver before the event. 鈥淚 really like to get people together. That鈥檚 my big thing in life.鈥�
Walters was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer last November. It鈥檚 a battle he knows he can鈥檛 win.
鈥淢y first oncologist, basically his first words to me were, 鈥榃e鈥檙e not beating this.鈥� He didn鈥檛 say hi to me. He didn鈥檛 get to know me,鈥� Walters said.
He fought through seven rounds of chemotherapy in spite of the bleak outlook before moving on to naturopathic options and a healthy diet. None of it worked.
He eloped with his wife Jana Buhlmann in December on board a small ferry that takes people up and down False Creek in Vancouver.
Buhlmann lovingly describes Walters as one of the most joyous people she鈥檚 ever met. Saying goodbye to their friends like this is a fitting departure for her new husband, she said.
Her goal is to make sure he is as comfortable as possible while it happens.
鈥淭oday is his day,鈥� Buhlmann said. 鈥淗e gets to see everyone and everyone gets to see him and have this time.鈥�
Walters鈥� fight has not been an easy one. At one point he thought he was going to die of chemotherapy-related symptoms rather than the disease. He stopped chemo treatments in March, and said he has no regrets about the decisions that will guide the rest of his life.
Part of the wake involves giving away some of Walters鈥� belongings. His high school-aged cousin will get his prized guitar. Zipping up the case is just one on a long list of things he is getting ready to do for the last time.
鈥淚鈥檓 at real peace with where I鈥檓 going. I鈥檝e had a lot of time to absorb this,鈥� Walters said. 鈥淚鈥檓 at a real good point in life where there are some good closure points with my son, with my wife, with how things are going.鈥�
He said while it鈥檚 unfortunate that his illness is the reason his family and friends are getting together, he also wonders if there is something to be learned about the importance of making time to do so more often.
鈥淲e go on with these busy lives and hear rumours and stories and understand things through a Facebook post. But this is as real as it gets.鈥�
With a report from CTV Vancouver
