In the last few hours, Jose Pedro Aninat, widower of the influencer Juanita Lirawho passed away after suffering from cancer two weeks ago, moved the country by telling how they faced the illness that the 30-year-old woman suffered from for almost 9 years.
It is worth remembering that the Chilean Instagrammer had been diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 22, in 2015. Since then, she has used her social media to talk about her illness, raise awareness and also share healthy recipes.
In an interview with LUN, Lira’s widower highlighted that his wife’s legacy is “to live with hope” and revealed that she left him many lessons, especially during the last few years.
“The most powerful message I would like to share is the one she herself expressed so clearly. Juanita wrote: for me, hope is peace. I am sure that hope can always be stronger than fear. We may not be able to change the adversities or difficult circumstances that life presents to us, but we can change the attitude with which we face and live them. And I like to do it holding on to my little bit of hope,” said Aninat about her wife’s philosophy of life in recent times.
Along those lines, José Pedro spoke about the lessons his wife left him and what their motto was as a couple: “Juanita left me countless lessons, but the one that left the biggest mark on me and became our joint brand, ‘Hope’, is the power of hope. Living with hope is her greatest legacy, something she embodied in an extraordinary way. She always believed that everything would turn out well and she clung to that hope with a determination that never ceased to amaze me.”.
He also highlighted that Juanita had unconditional love for her family and friends, and that she showed great serenity: “Another great lesson she left me was the unconditional love for the family, understood not only as blood ties, but also friends.”
Photos of Juanita with her parents. Left: With the mayor of Lo Barnechea, Cristóbal Lira. Right: With her mother Consuelo Eguiguren.In turn, the husband of the daughter of the mayor of Lo Barnechea, Cristóbal Lira, highlighted the serenity and light of his wife: “Seeing a person, whose body was being invaded by cancer, Smiling with a light that radiated peace and serenity is something indescribable. That hope, which for her was synonymous with peace, is something I carry with me every day.“.
In that sense, he said that he always sought to give his wife joy in her life, and that this was possible thanks to the determination she showed: “Looking at it from my perspective, I can say that I became the best version of myself. I did my best to make Juanita see life with joy, to make her smile, to make her happy, despite everything we had against us.”.
And he concluded the note by describing what his relationship was like with Juanita Lira“Without her strength and determination, it wouldn’t have been the same. I think the same thing applied the other way around; we were a team, inseparable, facing the impossible and, in many ways, achieving the impossible.”.
In a recent post on her Instagram account, Aninat revealed some of the dreams and plans she and Juanita had: “I remember our constant conversations after each treatment change. There were so many times when we dreamed of going to the other side of the world, just to enjoy ourselves. “Many times, actually.”
José Pedro Aninat and Juanita Lira after two years of fighting breast cancer. In the photo: Behind a sign reading ‘Hope’, their motto as a couple.José Pedro Aninat’s emotional confession after the death of his wife
On how she is going through her widowhood, Aninat said: “Now, in this new stage, I’m looking for something to fall in love with. And I think I’m finding it: the way I miss you. It’s a deep feeling, and for now I want to hold on to it, because it connects me with you“.
And he asked himself: “Is this the right way? I don’t know, but what I do know is that This feeling fills me with purpose. I am determined to make the best of it, and to continue practicing that philosophy of life that you taught me so much and that we share.”
“My admiration for you is what I need. To be able to live one day with your strength is what I long for,” Aninat expressed in one of his Instagram posts, in memory of his late wife.And he concluded thoughtfully: “You always pursued what you loved, and even though you sometimes stumbled, there was never a time when you didn’t get up and keep going.Now, it is my turn to follow that path, with the certainty that, in some way, we continue walking together.”