August 18, 2014

Well, this story shows the devotion and compassion that fans feel for the Gibbs and how the brothers in turn help the fans to heal their heartaches. Julie said that she hoped one day to tell Barry how much he means to her and how he helped her with the grieving process. Julie, you just did!

Julie

My story isn’t as exciting as some of the stories I have read on this site, but it got me through one of the worst times of my life.

In 2012, I noticed that Robin seemed quite ill. I worked in the medical field for 15 years and knew enough to know he would not live much longer and was saddened to see the Gibb family mourn the loss of another brother in May, 2012 (from liver cancer and renal failure).

In October, 2012, my mother suddenly became sick. After finally being admitted to the hospital, we learned that she had stage 4 liver caner and was in renal failure. After 2 dialysis treatments, she made the decision to stop treatments. With my dad, my brother and I holding her hands, she quietly passed away, just one week after we learned she was so ill. She died from renal failure just as Robin had. Being the oldest and only daughter, my first thought was getting my dad through this, so I pushed aside any feelings of sadness and mourning I had.

One afternoon about 4 months after my mom died, I was on YouTube listening to the music form my favorite group, the Bee Gees. I have been in love with their music since I was a little girl. When I was a teenager, I had Andy Gibb posters on the wall next to my bed, and a life-sized poster of the Bee Gees on my other wall.

At one point, I turned on an interview Barry had recently done. In the interview, he got very emotional when they showed he and his brothers when they were young. He teared up and asked to stop for a moment. He told the interviewer that he had never cried for any of his brothers before that moment. All of a sudden, all the pain that I had pushed aside came flooding out of me. For the first time, I was able to cry over losing my mother. I don’t exactly know how long I cried. It was hours. I am so thankful that Barry let himself be vulnerable enough to show his feelings and that I was finally able to have my own release over losing my mother. Somehow, I knew Barry was feeling the same feelings as I was feeling, and it was OK to let them out and not to have to be strong all the time. I hope that one day I will be able to tell him what he means to me and how he helped one woman with the grieving process.

I was able to see Barry in concert in Chicago recently for my 50th birthday…a dream come true!. Watching him on stage talking about his brothers and knowing they were there with him was so moving. (My mother eventually had decided that Barry was quite handsome). I am a brothers Gibb fan forever!!