Mary was on her way to work when Mark called her with the news, so she turned the car around and drove to Clinton to give Mom and Mark her support - thank you Mary!
Mom was in on the decision to not tell me about her illness because she wanted me to have a good vacation.
When we returned to Clinton, we went immediately to the hospital to visit her. She was still in ICU but was not in need of ICU services - they just left her there so the nurses could watch her more closely. Mark and Mary were both there sitting with her, and David and Deb Mills also came out for a short visit.
On Saturday morning, Mom was better and was moved to Room 311. After visiting with Mom on Saturday, Mark and Mary went back to Chesterfield. Joe and Tom had both visited during the week too. Joe and his girlfriend, Nicole, visited Grandma before going to a wedding and came back to Clinton to spend the night so they could visit her again on Sunday. Amanda drove down on Saturday to visit Grandma as well and came to spend the day with her on Wednesday.
I was blessed with the opportunity to spend the week with Mom at the hospital 24/7. She loved it that I spent the night with her, and we had lots of time to visit. After the doctor told me, I told her that she only had a few months to live, that her heart had been severely damaged this time, and she was not going to make it very long. She accepted that very well and said she was ready to go be with Jean. She said she had had a good life and was ready to go see Jesus - that he was holding the door for her.
The week was stressful as some days she was very confused - usually at night. She had a lot of pain mid week, and they gave her a double dose of Fentanol patch which she did not tolerate well. She couldn't be woke up the next day, so they took the patch off which caused her to have lots of pain once the patch wore off. A very bad night ensued where she had difficulty breathing and lots of heart pain.
On Friday, it was determined that nothing else could be done but to keep her comfortable. They started a morphine drip which eliminated her pain. She was so happy to be pain free. Amanda, Chad and Peyton visited Friday night - she enjoyed their visit very much. Debbie Sieger and Deb Mills along with David Mills had visited on Friday as well - along with Kelly Briggs and Sherri Albin.
Mom slept all night Friday night and until around noon on Saturday. She was in no pain. When Tom arrived and said, I love You Grandma, she opened her eyes. She became more alert when Mark and Mary arrived. Joe was not able to come as he could not get off work, but he had visited and shown his love to Grandma 3 times the week before which she enjoyed immensely. Ron came out to see her on Saturday afternoon as well, and he and Chad kept things going at home and played with Garrison.
About 4 p.m., Mom was just worn out and went to sleep, never to open her eyes again. Mary and I spent the night with her with Mary sitting up and giving me an opportunity to get a little sleep. Mom took her last breath peacefully around 2:30 a.m. and went to live with Jesus and to be reunited with Jean. She had missed him so much these past 4 years.
Rest in Peace Mom - we all love you so very much and will miss you terribly, but we know you are in a better place and no longer in pain. You taught us so much, and we have beautiful memories to sustain us.
Mom's service will be Thursday, April 2, 2015 at Engelwood Cemetery graveside at 1 p.m. We hope to honor you Mom as you should be - you were the greatest Mom, Grandma and Great Grandma ever!
We are blessed.
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