Very sad news
I've just learned that my Great Aunt Mary is in the hospital, in what sounds like critical condition. She needed an emergency operation on her bowels, and is barely conscious.
She has a do not resuscitate order and a living will - she's a member of the Hemlock Society so we are pretty sure this is the end of a long life. I think she is somewhere in her late 80's or 90's, so this is not a surprise but a sad thing all the same.
Great Aunt Mary is an artist. She painted pictures, and collects art and knick-knacks. I identify a lot with the latter. She's a hippy, an environmentalist, and a very upbeat and positive person. She volunteered at various museums in Santa Fe (and there are a umber of good ones there) for years, though I think she may have had to give some of that up in the past couple of years. Her kitchen wall in her apartment is covered in old kitchen gadgets, some of which no one could identify. She has a collection of pig figurines, and glass, and pottery. Visiting her home involves stepping into a riot of color. While the complex only allows white walls, she covered them with art, and carefully displayed collections.
She's a great lady. Kinda bummed now. I haven't got any grandparents left, and my other Great Aunt passed away just after her sister, my grandmother. She's really the last relative I have of that generation.
She has a do not resuscitate order and a living will - she's a member of the Hemlock Society so we are pretty sure this is the end of a long life. I think she is somewhere in her late 80's or 90's, so this is not a surprise but a sad thing all the same.
Great Aunt Mary is an artist. She painted pictures, and collects art and knick-knacks. I identify a lot with the latter. She's a hippy, an environmentalist, and a very upbeat and positive person. She volunteered at various museums in Santa Fe (and there are a umber of good ones there) for years, though I think she may have had to give some of that up in the past couple of years. Her kitchen wall in her apartment is covered in old kitchen gadgets, some of which no one could identify. She has a collection of pig figurines, and glass, and pottery. Visiting her home involves stepping into a riot of color. While the complex only allows white walls, she covered them with art, and carefully displayed collections.
She's a great lady. Kinda bummed now. I haven't got any grandparents left, and my other Great Aunt passed away just after her sister, my grandmother. She's really the last relative I have of that generation.