Phil on the stairs of Girona's Cathedral (Spain), november 3, 2006
On the 23rd of november, around 5.30 am, a very special friend died. Although Phil hardly ever complained about his illness, he finally paid the price for letting a hepatitis virus live rent free in his liver for 20 years.
Phil and I worked closely together for 6 years. Not only I did benefit from his wisdom and experience, so do the people that I work(ed) with. It made Phil very happy to know this. Also as his guinea pig for his rebalancing massage trainings, I experienced and appreciated his tremendous patience and commitment.When the doctor told him that he was terminally ill, Phil suggested he and I would hike through the Pyrenees for a month. The ambitious plan eventually boiled down to 5 days of curving and bending through countless hairpins in a car, but he loved it anyhow. Though we had no particular goal, it felt very purposeful.
Not long after we returned, Phil deteriorated rapidly. "Maybe the trip was too much for you," I said. He replied: "The trip was a great achievement. It was just what I needed." In the hospital, after turning himself in, it seemed as if he was still counting on recovery. But somewhere deep inside him, acceptance grew - until he surrendered to his fate. As I was reading names from his address book, he said that he would "giv'm a call later". "How much later, Phil?" I asked. "About two weeks... after I'm dead," he joked. His humor is one of the things I will miss most. 
As a close friend of his put it when paying his respect: 'In his last weeks, Phil seemed to have become again the joyful and beautiful child he once was and the mature and handsome man he was always meant to be.'
The funeral has taken place November 29th in Amsterdam. If you like, you can leave a comment here.
