Life of Harlow

Why Be Sneaky

Liam Law

My life right now is not what I expected it to be.

I didn't expect to lose the love of my life, Dana and become a widow.

I didn't expect to be a single father raising a daughter.

I didn't expect my career to come to a screeching halt and not retire on my own terms.

My life has been a roller coaster these past 15 years.

Meeting Dana our freshman year of college at Duke, I knew she was special. She was also a student athlete playing women's basketball. She was so talented, but it wasn't something she wanted to do professionally.

I left college a year early and entered the NBA Draft. I was a first round draft pick to the San Antonio Spurs and that's where I spent my entire career. Dan and I had a lot of highs and lows.

The highs? We were married at 22 on our anniversary, February 22nd. We bought our first home together. Our baby girl came when we were 24 and made our worlds brighter. Being the youngest of 3, my sisters both had sons. Bianca had 3: Nash, and Axel, and Walker. Addison had 2, Miles and Milo. Harlow was the first and only granddaughter. Man was she spoiled.

I was doing amazing on the court. All-star games, team records, talks for league MVP. Still chasing the rings and my team got close countless times over my 7 years. It was frustrating and crushing to fall short.

While I was hoping for the best on the court, my wife had to fight for her life. We were looking to expand our family and were having difficulty doing so. Tests were done and we got the unfortunate news that she had cervical cancer.

Immediately we jumped into action as it was in its early stages. I was traveling home every chance I could and was even looking to retire then. No one came before my family. Thankfully, the chemo worked and she beat cancer, but it came back 3 years later and it was worse.

Explaining to Harlow that mommy was sick was one thing. Try explaining to a 9 year old that her mother is dying after the doctors only gave 9 months to live. The cancer had spread. We thought the chemo and extensive testing had worked. We were wrong. We tried all that we could. It just wasn't enough.

Losing Dana, I hated myself.

I hated having to look Harlow in the face who was a spitting image of her mother.

I hated having to watch her cry as she missed her mother. My baby girl was so strong and wise beyond her years. Dana had explained to her so well what was happening. I felt like I was in quicksand; I couldn't get my bearings if I tried.

The day of the funeral, I was numb. So many friends and family showing their love and support. Harlow went off with her cousins. I just sat there. My mom had to force me to eat something. My dad would sit up with me for hours on end. Neither of us said anything, but his presence was greatly appreciated.

I remember one night when Harlow came into my room because she couldn't sleep and found me crying. All she kept saying was -

It's okay, daddy. Mommy is our angel now. She'll always protect us.

It was the same thing I had been telling her from the moment Dana passed away. She was our angel, but that sentiment didn't make her loss any easier to manage.

What made matters worse was having to deal with Dana's parents. My in-laws were so lost in grief of losing their only child that we ended up in a custody battle for Harlow. I was grieving too and this is what they thought we should do?

Harlow had no idea what was going on and I'd never speak negatively about her grandparents in front of her. I wasn't that type of man. They weren't sure I'd be able to give her the stability she needed being an NBA player. I had my parents to help. They wanted to take her, full custody. So, I made the decision to retire at the end of the season. I had lost my wife and I damn sure wasn't going to lose my daughter.