Last monday my mother-in-law (MIL) went in for her first chemotherapy treatment. When she returned home, what I preceived as a normal reaction to therapy turned into much worse. I urged my husband to go be with his mother when they called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. My husband also assumed that the 911 call was an over reaction to what was being experienced. On the way to his mother's side, she stopped breathing for five minutes, until she was able to be revived; this promoted loss of all her neurological functioning. Once they had her stabalized at her home, they transported her to Ft. Washington hospital, with the intentions to further stabalize her for airivac transportation to Washington hospital in the District of Columbia. Unfortunately, she was never able to be transported a second time, her condition remained critical as she remained on life support. With Roger at the hospital, I lied alone in our bed, while the kids slept, constantly waiting on a little bit of hope, which never came. My husband called me and said, "It's a no go." We lost our mother at 5:55am on Tuesday morning to heart failure.
This entire past week has been so heart wrenching, that I barely have energy to do much of anything. When my husband returned home, we told our children that Grandma is in a better place, where she doesn't have to suffer, and her spirit can be with us. It has been extremely difficult for my husband and I to help our kids understand that we won't be seeing her until we meet with our Heavenly Father again. Nevertheless, we tried to keep everything as normal as possible.
I attended my Policy Council meeting for Head Start, then came home and played with the kids outside (fixing and filling up our pool for the summer). I also took some pictures. My heart broke for my husband and the tragedy he was having to endure.
I took comfort in knowing that we still have eachother. This past week I've tried to count my blessings more frequently, as I created my MILs Obituary, a memorial website, and a program with some organization for the funeral services.
There was a miscommunication at the funeral home as to when the obituary had to be completed for publishing, therefore, the obituary that I found so difficult to write, didn't get pulished in the paper, but rather has been used in the program and on the memorial site created for her. I had many express that they liked my obituary better, but I felt the one published in the paper represented her in ways I couldn't have; expressing details about her love for camping, bingo, and her morning cup of coffee.
When creating the memorial website, I was also able to include her family tree, counting her parents, her children, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren. I created this online website to bring comfort to the friends and family of Mary Bee Marini. On this website you can light a virtual candle, send tributes or condolences, upload photos and videos. While searching family history, you can also take a virtual tour through her legacy. Take a second to browse around the site and remember the beautiful life she lived.
The next post will include the information about the funeral, celebrating her life, providing a record of closure and comfort to friends and loved ones.
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