...and I'm taking it a lot harder than I thought I would. The past two weeks have been a whirlwind.
She is my mom's mom and leaves behind 8 kids, 14 grandkids, 5 great grandkids, and her husband of 55 years. She had never been in great health, having had a few heart attacks since her 50s. Two weeks ago we found out she was in the hospital with pneumonia. One week later we find out she has Stage 4 lung cancer with metastasis to the brain. We thought she would at least make it through to Christmas, but her organs began shutting down on Wednesday so she was moved to hospice. By then all 8 kids and the local grandkids (about 10 of us) did rotations at the hospice and we had no idea when she would go. A priest from the Catholic church came to do the Anointing of the Sick/Last Rites yesterday, with all of us at her bedside. By that time we were just giving her a steady drip of sedatives to keep her asleep, since she was extremely combative upon waking. Two of my aunts and my uncle stayed with her yesterday evening while the rest of the family gathered at grandma and grandpa's to celebrate my aunt and uncle's birthday (yep, she had two kids with birthdays within two days of each other. I'm telling you, she could give Mrs. Duggar a run for her money...) My aunt called to tell us that she was gone, mere hours after the prayer. I do not practice Catholicism or any organized religion anymore, but to know that she got the spiritual relief she needed was a great source of comfort to us.
Anyway, it's still fresh and I'm just rambling. I know everyone must deal with the death of elderly loved ones, but it's just so surreal how fast this all happened. I'm struggling to resume my daily activities while processing this. Your thoughts and prayers would be much appreciated!!!
She is my mom's mom and leaves behind 8 kids, 14 grandkids, 5 great grandkids, and her husband of 55 years. She had never been in great health, having had a few heart attacks since her 50s. Two weeks ago we found out she was in the hospital with pneumonia. One week later we find out she has Stage 4 lung cancer with metastasis to the brain. We thought she would at least make it through to Christmas, but her organs began shutting down on Wednesday so she was moved to hospice. By then all 8 kids and the local grandkids (about 10 of us) did rotations at the hospice and we had no idea when she would go. A priest from the Catholic church came to do the Anointing of the Sick/Last Rites yesterday, with all of us at her bedside. By that time we were just giving her a steady drip of sedatives to keep her asleep, since she was extremely combative upon waking. Two of my aunts and my uncle stayed with her yesterday evening while the rest of the family gathered at grandma and grandpa's to celebrate my aunt and uncle's birthday (yep, she had two kids with birthdays within two days of each other. I'm telling you, she could give Mrs. Duggar a run for her money...) My aunt called to tell us that she was gone, mere hours after the prayer. I do not practice Catholicism or any organized religion anymore, but to know that she got the spiritual relief she needed was a great source of comfort to us.
Anyway, it's still fresh and I'm just rambling. I know everyone must deal with the death of elderly loved ones, but it's just so surreal how fast this all happened. I'm struggling to resume my daily activities while processing this. Your thoughts and prayers would be much appreciated!!!
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