PHOTO: Bildbyrån
It has almost been a year since Börje Salming passed away.
Now the widow Pia Salming opens up about the grief she will never get rid of.
– He had decided that he would find a way to live as long as possible, she tells Expressen.
On November 24, 2022, one of Swedish sports’ fallen heroes and role models fell asleep. Börje Salmings body gave up after fighting the incurable nerve disease ALS for several months.
Börje’s passing
Sweden was united in mourning for one of the most esteemed personalities and who also influenced so many during his lifetime. Condolences and tributes poured in from all over the country and yes, the whole world in fact.
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In the middle of it all stood the widow Pia Salming who lost his life partner and his everything. It has almost been a year since she said goodbye to her beloved husband Börje and the grief is still hard.
Pia Salming’s grief
The loss is still enormous and especially the weekends are the toughest, she admits in a new interview with Expressen. The illness meant that the last time passed far too quickly and the couple never really had time to talk about the time after his death.
– He was never prepared to die. He fought right into the tile. So no, we actually didn’t. He had decided that he would find a way to live as long as possible. For me – I couldn’t even imagine the thought that he wouldn’t be there, she admits to the evening newspaper.
– Sometimes I wish we had talked more about it. But considering that you have six months left, I think you should concentrate on the time that he lives.
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Pia and the immediate family banded together and tried to be as close to Börje as possible in the last days. Together they went to Canada to receive the Toronto Maple Leafs’ tribute and also attended the “Hockey Gala of the Ages” in Stockholm.
READ MORE: Erik Karlsson’s adamant criticism after the giant noob attracted attention at the Sports Gala: “So typical Sweden”
Regret it today
But a year later, she can still regret one thing about the last time of his life.
– I wish we had had a little more alone time, the two of us. I regret that we weren’t a little more strict about saying no. But there were people who came with various aids that were actually already too late. It took a lot of unnecessary time. But when you’re tired, you don’t always think very clearly, she says in the interview.
The Salming couple had long talked about a dream trip to New Zealand together. But it never happened and after New Year, Pia Salming has made the decision to make the trip to New Zealand anyway, with a friend instead.
– I can never say that I miss him less. Because I never do. But it’s as if it aches in the body, somehow. When it hurts enough, the body’s self-defense is in some way that it wants other feelings, then you come back. And I have friends who are amazing, so I have great support around me. But still, when you’re left alone with everything, it’s hard. You have no one to vent or console yourself with. But at least I feel that things are moving forward, she says of the severe grief.
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