To my friends...
Hello dear ones,
It is often said that we are a family here at K9C and for me that is very true. I want to share some things with ya'll as my family now.
First, I would like to apologize. I have not been as responsive as usual; I have let several new members go by without a proper welcome, nor have I been as attentive to your stories, your questions, or your needs. When I have posted replies, I have made some really dumb errors (more than usual even) and basically just taken up cyberspace with empty words. As much as I love this site, everyone and all the pups here, my heart just hasn't been in it lately. I now want to share with you why.
In July, my mom was put in an assisted living facility in ARK. Her mind had slipped to point she could no longer care for herself. Since then I have been driving back and forth from TN to ARK to try to help take care of her and to find a place to stay there so I could be closer all the time. A dear friend offered to let me live with her for as long as needed so I have been making that transition. Last month I got sick and have been battling that to get well enough to be around mom and the others in the facility she was in.
On Fri, the 4th, Mama fell and broke her hip. It was a clean, simple break and the surgery went well. But what was left of her mind couldn't recover. They tried rehab but Mom was not able to cooperate and deteriorated rapidly in just a very short time. She won't or can't eat, drink or communicate. Yesterday she was moved to Hospice.
My dad died 15 years ago this past May and the woman my brothers and I knew as our mom died at the same time tho her body continued on. Mama withdrew from her friends, her church, and everything she had once enjoyed. When Gia died that took a huge toll on her as well; she was the first grandchild and they were extremely close. Mama has been miserable for the last 15 years, only wanting to be with Daddy. Her time has finally come and she will soon be released from the bonds of this world.
It gives me great comfort to know my dad and daughter are standing at The Bridge, hand in hand, waiting to greet her and hold her in their arms once again.
My fever returned a few days after her surgery and I had to leave the hospital but I will be returning to ARK today to spend what time she has left with her. I can't help but believe somewhere in her mind she will know she is not alone.
Thank you for listening, for understanding, for being here. Please pray for my mom and my brothers.
Hugs to all,
Leslie
"May you know that absence is full of tender presence and that nothing is ever lost or forgotten." John O'Donahue, "Eternal Echoes"
Death is not a changing of worlds as most imagine, as much as the walls of this world infinitely expanding.