Sad Personal News

[Jackie]

Sad news. My mom, Betty, passed away last week. It has been a very difficult time.

On Jan 19th mom coughed and ruptured a hernia that she'd had for many years. She was in horrible pain, so I called an ambulance and she was rushed to the local hospital where they performed emergency surgery. The surgery itself was no problem. However, due to her COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), getting her off the ventilator after the surgery was insurmountable. They extubated her on Jan. 25th, but that failed. They had to reintubate her in the middle of the night. On Jan 28th they performed a tracheostomy. They had hoped it would be easier for her to wean off the vent from a trach. By Feb 10th it was clear that she was worn out. Her systems were beginning to fail. We had no choice but to say goodbye and turn off her ventilator. She died with dignity and peace surrounded by myself, my sister, and her grand-daughter.

The funeral service was Friday. She was laid to rest in a beautiful small Catholic cemetery in Lafayette at the foot of a shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes. My mother was a devoted Catholic and, if anyone is in heaven, she is surely there.

I loved her so and am very, very sad.

Jackie

[This message has been edited by Jackie (edited 02-21-2010).]

[hotwine]

You have our deepest sympathies, Jackie.

[winoweenie]

So extremely sorry Jackie Love.

[andrawes76]

So sorry for your loss Jackie. I met your Mom and she's was as sweet as sugar. Take care of yourself. Hugs, Alex

[Georgie]

Oh, Jackie, I don't know you, but your post brought me to tears. Losing your mom is overwhelmingly painful.

[Kcwhippet]

We are so sorry for you and your family, Jackie. Please accept our deepest sympathies.

[Drew]

Reading that brought tears. So very sorry for your loss.

Drew

[Thomas]

Sorry for your loss, Jackie. Never easy.

[wondersofwine]

I say no matter how old you are, you are never ready to lose your mother. I lost mine almost four years ago when she was 92 and still miss her greatly. Faith helps as you have the hope of a spiritual reunion in the afterlife. God bless, Jackie.

[TheEngineer]

Jackie,

I am very sorry for your lose. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Mike

[newsguy]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Jackie. It brought tears to my eyes.

Then I flat-out started crying as it made me recall watching my Mom die from cancer when I was in college.

Losing your mother is a horrible thing, no matter the when, where or why.

I wish you and your family peace.

[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 02-24-2010).]

[Kcwhippet]

I know exactly what you mean, but in a somewhat different vein, Keith. Back in 1990, my sister called me and said she had all her kids and their kids coming over for Mother's Day. So, we called my mom and asked if we could get together with her on the Saturday before Mom's day. My sister, her husband, Judy and I went over and had a really nice visit with my mom. After about two hours there, she told my sister (a trauma nurse) that she really wasn't feeling well. My sister sat her down and did some visual tests then called 911, and the local hospital's ALS crew. Upshot is, my mom had a stroke and never recovered, dying two days later without regaining consciousness. If we hadn't gone Sat instead of Sun, she would have died without our last visit. I feel so so sad because I miss my mom and I still feel her presence in me.

Jackie, I hope so much that you and your mother had a great relationship and that you feel her in you for the rest of your life.

Well, I'm a bit bummed, so I'm signing off for the evening.

[Georgie]

That's special story, Bob. How wonderful that things happened the way they did. Your mom had her family around her in her final moments; you were there to be with her. I believe that God always has the big plan in mind.