The News That Broke My Heart Two Years Ago Today [VIDEO]

Two years have passed since I read the news that Robin Williams was dead, and thinking about it still breaks my heart. So today I will spend some time watching videos of his brilliance to keep his amazing memory alive.

It was one of 'those' moments. You know what I mean. The moments that you never, ever forget where you were and what you were doing when you hear the news. Like when my friend Wendy came into my bedroom and woke me up to tell me that John Lennon had been shot. My roommate bursting into our dorm room and switching on the TV, saying that someone was shooting at Ronald Reagan. Or when my son came home and told me that that Michael Jackson was dead.

On August 11th, 2015, I was sitting in the living room with Jim and surfing the internet when I read that Robin Williams had died. I immediately went to Google because, let's face it, there are tons of death hoaxes on the 'net these days. But the story was everywhere, on CNN, NBC,CBS, USA Today...and I knew it was true. I told Jim, who asked how he died. That's when I saw the word that I just couldn't wrap my brain around. Suicide. How was that possible? Williams brought so much joy to so many and always seemed so full of fun! I remember the tears as I tried to wrap my brain around the fact that one of the world's most brilliant entertainers was gone.

Over the past twelve months we've learned that Robin was sick. He'd battled depression for years, but it was an illness called Lewy Body Dementia that propelled him to take his own life. Lewy Body Dementia is a neurodegenerative disease, much like Parkinson's, that would have forced Williams into a care facility where he would have gone rapidly downhill. Among other symptoms, it causes hallucinations and loss of motor functions. I read up on the disease before Williams' death because I have a cousin who received the same diagnosis.

So today, I will take some time to remember Robin, and I encourage you to do the same. Watch his videos on YouTube, or maybe take a couple of hours to watch your favorite Williams' film. For me, it has to be 'The Fisher King,' in which he plays a homeless man who's haunted by an imaginary knight on horseback, while denying memories of his wife's death in a nightclub shooting. Dark, I know. But I love it.

The clip I've shared, however, is much lighter because we want to laugh today. And one of his funniest family-friend roles, had to be Mrs. Doubtfire!

Rest in peace, Robin. Know that you will never be forgotten.

If you are considering suicide, help is available 24/7 at the Maine Suicide Prevention Hotline, 1-888-568-1112.