February 3, 2019 - March 10, 2019
During the past month or so I have spent more time in Sarasota FL helping my children’s grandmother, Claire, than in Charleston with my husband. I left Charleston less than a week after returning from Sarasota when I received a call from Claire that she was in the hospital with pneumonia and obviously not doing well. My daughter, Jessica, and her husband, Joe joined us a few days later. Her son also came. We took turns staying with her all day and night so she would not be alone. Since she did not want to have heart surgery Jessica and I helped her to transition back to her apartment under hospice care. Being home and surrounded by family helped her to rally for awhile. All of her grandchildren and her great-grandson visited the following weekend and when they left she began to decline. Her daughter-in law was with her for a week. And I was to return the following week when I got a call from the nurse at the assisted living facility that she had shifted into actively dying. My daughter Rachel got there that afternoon and called me the following morning (3/1) at around 3 am to tell me that her grandmother had passed. I left as soon as I could the next morning for a whirlwind of activity. Claire’s husband, Fred, came home from rehabilitation the following Tuesday and Rachel, Juan (Rachel’s friend), and I stayed to help him until his daughter, Sheryl, and her friend, Laurie, arrived on Friday afternoon.
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| Claire in 1994. |
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| Fun times at Jessica and Joe's wedding. |
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| Happy times - Claire and granddaughter, Rachel |
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| Close to the end - Claire and grandson, Karl. |
I’m now back in Charleston finally able to rest and grieve. Claire had been a significant part of my life for over 40 years. She provided an immeasurable amount of help and support over those years. The last two years we switched roles and it was my turn to help and support her in her illnesses and life transitions. I have been constantly in touch with her by phone and visited numerous times even flying over from the Bahamas one January to help her move into assisted living. The past two months have been consumed with concern for her well being and visits to provide help and comfort. So now she is gone and I feel a giant hole in my life, I miss her so much. I feel like I have been set adrift with no purpose. I know I will recover from these feelings quickly, but right now I am just sad and lost. I have my husband, my cats, my children,my grandchildren, my sisters, and a wonderful life style. It’s just hard to appreciate all of those blessings at this moment.
My next post will be about our final adventures in Charleston as we get ready for our trip back to Baltimore.
Thank you for reading my blog.
