(no subject)
Just when I thought life had thrown all the challenges at me it possibly could at once...my grandmother had a stroke. My dad's mother, Lucille Tamia Sheppard, was an incredible lady. She was very proud of her afro-carribean heritage, and especially the native land of her mother, Guyana. She worked hard her entire life raising her three children, as well as working in politics and education. She loved to travel, and visited nations across the globe. After her retirement in her 70's, she became active with a program teaching classes to senior citizens, especially teaching them how to use computers. I am pretty sure that she is the only person who was ever online more than myself. She loved to cook, garden, and spend time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well. After her daughter Paulette, from her first marraige, passed away at a young age from cancer, she became a mother to her 4 grown children. Sadly, all of this changed on the morning of Sunday the 13th. She suffered a brain bleed, and collapsed in her kitchen. After she was brought to the hospital, the family assembled in a serious way. My grandfather called my father, and his two song [one with my grandmother, Eric, who lives in Virginia, and another from his first wife, Arthur, who lives in Queens]. Then, the grandchildren were called - my cousin David, who is 36 and lives in Westbrook, my cousin Helena who is 40ish and lives in West Palm Beach, and my cousin Monica, who is 43 and left Army officer training in Texas to join us. David's daughter Kristie, who is 18, also came. Friends of the family also showed up to support her, including her friend Shalom and her son Michael...who are Nigerian royalty. Because of the permanent brain damage caused by the bleed, Lucille immediately went into a coma, and was only kept alie by life support. Once the entire family made it to Portland, the decision was made to take her off life support, as this is definitely what she would have wanted. After a small service by a minister, a priest and a rabbi [I know, I chuckled at that too], her breathing tubes were removed. At 10:55pm tonight, Lucille Sheppard passed away at the age of 77. She leaves behind an infinite list of people who love her, were touched by her and will never forget her.