As our trip was coming to a close in West Virginia, I got a call from a friend that mom had fell during the night and was taken by ambulance to the emergency room. She was very fortunate to have seen this friend earlier in the day while she was out walking Sadie. My friend put her number in mom's phone just in case she needed anything. Later that night she fell and hit her head and somehow was able to use her phone to call. My friend and her husband and son came in the middle of the night and called 911. Were it not for that tender mercy, I think I might have come home to my mom dead on the dining room floor which would have been dreadful!. She was in the hospital for quite a few days, some days we thought it would be her last, seeing visions of her life pass before her and visits from family like they were coming to get her. And somedays she seemed to be making a recovery. She did come home on hospice. The doctor told me she had about six week, which is exactly how long she lived. It was difficult having her home, strange to know you are in the last phase of your life, but she is such a fighter, she wanted to exercise and eat right and do whatever she could to take care of herself. We had a couple of rough nights, but mostly it was such a sweet experience for me to be able to have her in my home and serve her for the few short weeks we had her on hospice. I was worried about what her last breaths would look like, but she only had a few days where she wasn't really able to speak or get out of bed, and then she just quietly passed in her sleep. I was very grateful for that. And, sounds selfish of me, but also such a tender mercy that she passed in time for us to plan the memorial and bury her before we left on our cruise. We had been planning for Kelly to come and be with her while we were gone, but it would have been really hard to leave if she was continuing to deteriorate. She passed with dignity grace just as she lived her life. We love you mom!
