‘Helder’s Story’ pays tribute to man who took life-ending medications after 12 years of battling cancer
Toward the end of his life, cancer patient Helder Pereira lost his voice and could only whisper. Thinking out loud at his hospital bedside, his wife, Carol, speculated she could probably write a book about his life.
Helder turned his head toward her and said, “You should do that.”
Dozens came to Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse in La Cañada on Sunday for a discussion with Carol Pereira and her daughter, Rebecca, to discuss the resulting labor of love, “Helder’s Story: A Death With Dignity.”
Carol, who recently moved to Tujunga, lived in La Crescenta for 20 years with her husband, where they raised four children — Jennifer, Rebecca, Tristan and Rachel.
Carol Pereira wrote the book to convey her husband’s life journey, culminating with his decision to choose a life-ending option after struggling 12 years with his disease.
The book balances the subjects of death with dignity and Helder Pereira’s life, including his personal losses and struggles. He was one of 111 people in California who took aid-in-dying medication the first year the End of Life Option Act was approved in 2016. The law permits terminally ill adult patients with capacity to make medical decisions to be prescribed such medication if certain conditions are met.
Carol Pereira recounted how she came to be in favor of allowing terminally ill patients to have the right to choose life-ending medications.
”I realized that for me, I don’t know if I’d make that choice for myself, but it should be available for those who want it,” she said. “It’s a very personal choice.”
Helder Pereira was considered by many to be a leader in the community, a healer and a devoted husband and father. The memoir contains several inspirational messages, including his commitment to sobriety, his compassion for others and his joy of life. Stricken by both addiction and cancer, he used the lessons he learned along the way to keep the cancer at bay for several years.
After Helder was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 43, he and Carol began to navigate the complex healthcare system in search for the best treatment. Once they realized his cancer was terminal, Helder decided to plan the end of his life.
Rebecca Pereira was by her mother’s side during Sunday’s discussion at Flintridge Bookstore. She is proud of the book and its potential for helping others facing similar challenges.
“We feel it’s good to honor Dad’s life, in strength and hope in that it might help someone else,” she said. “Not only is she doing something that’s going to represent my dad and everything he lived for, it’ll be tool to help people and guide them through their experiences.”
Kathy Watson, of Azusa, attended the author talk and said she’s known the Pereira family for about 27 years.
“It was a powerful message of love,” she said of the book, adding she laughed and cried as she worked her way through it. “Helder was the most amazing man I knew. He was always of service in his community. He was the best father. Always taking them camping, biking and skiing, and it was like Disneyland at their house on Halloween. Like 100 people [came] to their Thanksgivings.”
Carol Pereira is considering writing a second book on the same theme as “Helder’s Story,” perhaps interviewing other terminally ill patients. It’s a “unique experience,” she said, that doesn’t get discussed enough.
For more information about “Helder’s Story,” visit heldersstory.org.
Matt Sanderson is a contributing writer to Times Community News.
Matt Sanderson is a contributing writer to Times Community News.