(no subject)
Rickie and I drove down to Florida last week. Our friend Kate's cancer came back for the third time and she wasn't doing well. I sat with her in the hospital on and off Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and then we drove down to St. Cloud to visit our niece and her family for two days. Before we left for home I called Kate's husband and he told me she'd passed away Friday night.
I can't even begin to explain how fortunate I feel that we made it down in time to see her. Whatever anyone believes, we were truly guided through every step of this trip. We decided to go on the spur of the moment, and when we mentioned it to our nephew, Jeremy, he said he'd like to go down and stay with his sister before he enlists in the military later this summer. He drove almost all the way down and back! When we got to Leesburg on Sunday we were waiting at a corner gas station for Heather and Chin to pick Jeremy and Sarah (his girlfriend came too) up to drive them down to St. Cloud. The gas station was right next to the hotel we were planning to stay in and we could see that the place was a dump! We ended up driving back to The Villages and staying in a Comfort Suites...which ended up being one block from the hospital Katie was admitted to on Monday morning.
Even though she was in a lot of pain, Kate knew who I was and chatted with me when she could all the time we were there. Mostly I let her sleep, rubbed her back, her feet, and her hands, and did little things like make sure her water was close enough to drink, and tried to get her to eat a little Jell-o or drink a little juice. It was obvious she was glad I was there.
On Wednesday night after we left she took a turn for the worse and by Friday morning she was starting to confuse who she, and other people were. She'd had massive infusions of blood and platelets while we were there, and was on Morphine and a cocktail of antibiotics.
It's a really strange feeling to lose my best friend. We were inseperable from the time we were 12 until we were 18. After that we drifted apart, but became really close again a few years later. She was someone I expected to share my life's experiences with until we were moldy oldies--little old ladies surrounded by cats and piles of collectibles. I still feel shock when I think, "My best friend is gone."
I feel so bad for her husband. He's a really low-key, laid-back kind of guy who lived just for her. Kate's mom and sister tend to be abrasive, and they don't give him credit for much of anything. Rickie and I were glad we were there just to tell him how strong and supportive we knew he'd been, how much Kate loved and depended on him, and how much we knew he loved her and was there for her. We KNEW that he wouldn't hear that from Kate's family down there. We're just hoping that one or two of his siblings were able to go down to Florida to be with him.
I don't believe in angels as beings related to God and the devil or angels and demons. I think of them as people who've lived and died on this earth, and have chosen to stay and watch over the people left behind who loved them and whom they loved. I talk to them, ask for help and strength when I or a love one need it, and trust them to guide me when I have trouble guiding myself. They were with me through this entire trip...from it's conception to our wild drive home with "Jeremy Andretti" behind the wheel. And when a really, REALLY old REO Speedwagon song came on the car radio--a song I hadn't heard in over thirty years--I knew it was from Katie. We spent many Sunday afternoon's in Warner Hall on the CMU campus in our HS senior year at REO Speedwagon free concerts. The song? "Roll with the changes."
I can't even begin to explain how fortunate I feel that we made it down in time to see her. Whatever anyone believes, we were truly guided through every step of this trip. We decided to go on the spur of the moment, and when we mentioned it to our nephew, Jeremy, he said he'd like to go down and stay with his sister before he enlists in the military later this summer. He drove almost all the way down and back! When we got to Leesburg on Sunday we were waiting at a corner gas station for Heather and Chin to pick Jeremy and Sarah (his girlfriend came too) up to drive them down to St. Cloud. The gas station was right next to the hotel we were planning to stay in and we could see that the place was a dump! We ended up driving back to The Villages and staying in a Comfort Suites...which ended up being one block from the hospital Katie was admitted to on Monday morning.
Even though she was in a lot of pain, Kate knew who I was and chatted with me when she could all the time we were there. Mostly I let her sleep, rubbed her back, her feet, and her hands, and did little things like make sure her water was close enough to drink, and tried to get her to eat a little Jell-o or drink a little juice. It was obvious she was glad I was there.
On Wednesday night after we left she took a turn for the worse and by Friday morning she was starting to confuse who she, and other people were. She'd had massive infusions of blood and platelets while we were there, and was on Morphine and a cocktail of antibiotics.
It's a really strange feeling to lose my best friend. We were inseperable from the time we were 12 until we were 18. After that we drifted apart, but became really close again a few years later. She was someone I expected to share my life's experiences with until we were moldy oldies--little old ladies surrounded by cats and piles of collectibles. I still feel shock when I think, "My best friend is gone."
I feel so bad for her husband. He's a really low-key, laid-back kind of guy who lived just for her. Kate's mom and sister tend to be abrasive, and they don't give him credit for much of anything. Rickie and I were glad we were there just to tell him how strong and supportive we knew he'd been, how much Kate loved and depended on him, and how much we knew he loved her and was there for her. We KNEW that he wouldn't hear that from Kate's family down there. We're just hoping that one or two of his siblings were able to go down to Florida to be with him.
I don't believe in angels as beings related to God and the devil or angels and demons. I think of them as people who've lived and died on this earth, and have chosen to stay and watch over the people left behind who loved them and whom they loved. I talk to them, ask for help and strength when I or a love one need it, and trust them to guide me when I have trouble guiding myself. They were with me through this entire trip...from it's conception to our wild drive home with "Jeremy Andretti" behind the wheel. And when a really, REALLY old REO Speedwagon song came on the car radio--a song I hadn't heard in over thirty years--I knew it was from Katie. We spent many Sunday afternoon's in Warner Hall on the CMU campus in our HS senior year at REO Speedwagon free concerts. The song? "Roll with the changes."