18 hours Ago By Bill Cloutier
Editor’s note: Rob Simon’s life as a husband and father to two young sons, and work as a Torrington police officer for 19 years, was upended last month when he retired early with a disability and was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer he is fighting now to stop. He is spending the days before Christmas Day in health care facilities in Boston and New Haven. A story about his struggle and his hope and gratitude was published last week.
He asked the Republican-American to publish this letter of thanks: A man doesn’t expect to be carried when he’s still on his feet, but here I am – carried by the strength of this town. I came into this fight not knowing how it would end, but now I know it’s not about the end at all. It’s about the people – the ones who gather when the world feels too heavy.
It’s about you, Torrington. There are times in life when things get dark, when the road ahead seems unclear. When the doctors speak their words and the days stretch long with uncertainty, a man starts to wonder where he belongs.
But then, a town steps forward. The people step forward. And for a moment, the darkness doesn’t seem so dark.
When my battle with cancer began, I wasn’t ready. No one ever is. But the love and generosity of this town took me by surprise.
The GoFundMe page – started in a moment of desperation – became a light. I could hardly believe the numbers. Not just the money, though that helps.
But the numbers that stood for something else: faces, names, hearts. Every dollar meant something more than a contribution – it meant a hand reaching out in the dark. Torrington, I don’t have the words for how much this has meant.
I don’t know how to thank you enough, because thanks seem too small. But if there’s one thing I can tell you, it’s this: you’ve shown me something. You’ve shown me that the world still has goodness in it, and that goodness is found right here – in this town, in the people who make it what it is.
Difficult days are ahead and I don’t know how much time I have left. None of us do. But what I do know is that no matter what, the love I’ve felt from all of you will stay with me.
It will stay with my family. It will stay with my boys. Thank you, Torrington.
In your kindness, you’ve made me believe that, even in the hardest of times, we are not alone. With all the gratitude I can muster, Rob Simon Torrington.
