'I’d do it all over again': Lisa Niemi opens up on finding love again and preserving Patrick Swayze's legacy
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA: Lisa Niemi Swayze, talked about the love she still has for her late husband and actor Patrick Swayze and the importance of preserving his legacy. Niemi found love again after the death of her husband with jeweler Albert DePrisco whom she married in 2014. They met each other through mutual friends.
"I love Patrick so deeply — and it’s interesting because that hasn’t changed in finding new love," the 66-year-old told 'Good Morning America' on November 28. "Just because you lose someone doesn’t mean love stops." Niemi noted that she and DePrisco "felt so blessed to find each other because we still have a lot of love to give, and it’s wonderful to find someone to give it to."
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She is also determined to keep the legacy of her late husband alive, Fox news reports. Swayze, who appeared in several successful movies, such as 'Dirty Dancing' and 'Ghost,' died in 2009 from pancreatic cancer when he was 57 years old. It's Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in November.
"I used to always say, particularly with the kinds of roles that Patrick liked to play, he always liked to be the hero," she said. "I always say, ‘You give him a sword, a cape and a horse, and he’s a happy man.’ But I tell you, when it came to fighting his illness, this disease, you really saw he… was a hero."
Swayze received a stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis in January 2008. After a "heartfelt, gruelling, tough, determined fight for 22 months," she added, he died in September 2009. Niemi recalls one specific day when her husband was fighting cancer and they were out for a walk on their New Mexico ranch. It's a memory that has persisted through time in her mind. "It was a beautiful day and his eyes glistened, and he said, ‘I want to live,’" she recalled. "I know that everybody else out there that is dealing with this disease and their families feel exactly the same."
Swayze initially met his wife, a fellow Houstonian in one of his mother's dance courses. In 1975, they got married and stayed together till his death. According to Niemi, his battle with the illness revealed a part of him that he "always wanted to be," namely a "truly courageous, humble, loving, determined [and] strong" person. "He had his moments," she said. "But, of course, Patrick was always aware that he was the one who would pay the ultimate price. You know, it’s just not fair that he had to be taken so soon in life. I don’t want to see that happen to other people."
"The only way we’re going to stop [pancreatic cancer] is by funding and research and better treatments and early detection," she added. Niemi also wrote a book called 'Worth Fighting For: Love, Loss and Moving Forward' in 2012. It describes their final months together, her experience as a caregiver, and her coping mechanisms for mourning the loss of a loved one. "As time goes on, it never goes away," she said. "It’s kind of like a wound, and it heals over, but there’s always that scar. And it may not be as visible, but it’s always there, and you never know when it will raise its head again."
She acknowledged that this year had been challenging. Swayze would have turned 70 on August 18. "It all came back to me," she explained. "But you know what? It resolves, and I’ve learned to take the good with the bad. And, you know, the bad parts are the price of having a wonderful, great love — and I’ll take that any day of the week. I’d do it all over again."
Niemi thinks that caregivers would identify with her tale. Additionally, she urged those affected by the illness and their loved ones to "be brave together." She said that spreading awareness has been a "great honour."