My wife and I were on the verge of divorce - she was unhappy but didn't know why (untreated ND issues as it turned out later). Then my beloved brother died suddenly. I was (and still am) crushed by this event. But it made my wife realise how bad life could be, and that she had a loving and supportive husband to spend her life with (her words, not mine). We went on to have two amazingly brilliant kids which wouldn't have happened without that pivotal (but devastating) event. I love my boys more than anything. But, at the same time, I miss my brother every day, and his death changed who I was as a person.