My husband beat me to it, but I would like to take a minute to thank everyone who has reached out to me about the passing of my mother in law. It may seem a bit strange that Im so affected by this, but not everyone knows that she lived with us for the last two years and I was her primary care giver. I, along with my husband, children and daughter in law Angie, made sure she was fed, bathed, medicated, dialyzed and comfortable. My sister in laws saw her regularly and spoke to her every day to make sure she was happy. My sister in law Lucy made sure to cook her real chicken when the dementia really kicked in and my mother in law would no longer eat my food without a fight lol. I met my mother in law six and a half years ago before the accident that would change her forever. She asked me if I loved her son and I told her I absolutely did. She grabbed my hand and told me she could see when he talked about me to her that he truly loved me too and that I made him happy and that was good enough for her. Before the dementia took ahold and became worse than I could have ever imagined, we would have talks and share memories and I knew that she loved me. I held her when she was sad, cleaned her when she was too weak or sick to do it herself, Ive showered her, cleaned up after shes been sick all over herself and the floor, cooked for her and loved her since the day I met her. In the last two years she became a second mother to me. The day I dreaded for years came to fruition on the morning of October 21 when I found her in her chair. I called 911 knowing instantly that she had a stroke, sat her up and cleared her airway and told her not to go. This wasnt the time, we werent ready. This wasnt how this was supposed to happen. I told the er staff to do whatever they had to do to keep her alive so everyone could say goodbye to her. When I saw her in the er she was flown to, I broke down for about five minutes. Life became truly unfair in that moment. I saw her every day or talked to her nurses at least four or five times a day. I was there when they took the tube out of her throat. I was there day and night for the 48 hours she held on after she was removed from life support. I was holding her hand as she left us. I organized her cremation and picked up her ashes that are now sitting in my closet. If there was more I could do I would do it!! My heart is utterly broken right now and you all know Im not an outwardly emotional person. Tomorrow, my family will all meet at St. Johns Cemetery in Queens to say goodbye to this amazing woman. I will carry her to her final resting place next to her husband, who she has wanted to be with for the last 25 years. To my family, I love each and everyone one of you and I am here for you no matter what the time or place. We need to stick together now more than ever. I will be here forever. Thank you also to Paul and Annmarie Lieb-Schweigert for helping watch my boys so I could be at the hospital, to my parents Bob and Karen Battle for the long talks and emotional support and Michelle Franke for letting me vent at all hours ❤️❤️❤️
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 20:28:00 +0000