He once confessed to me that he knew he would never be with a woman again, never feel a woman’s body next to him in bed, legs entwined, arm around a firm waist, head resting on a warm shoulder. In a moment of intense despair, he told me that he now sought solace in a hot shower. He described the sensation of scalding water cascading over his arthritic hands as “orgasmic.” Physical intimacy was in the past; Edward knew that, but he still lived intensely and he was determined to continue doing the things that made him feel alive and useful to others.
