This past month or so was a very tough one. On October 24th-'07 Cynthia and I got a call from Wales telling us that my mother had fallen, been found at home by her carer and was in hospital. We thought that though Mum had no breaks, she was in poor shape. We booked a flight for the 25th and arrived in London on the 26th. We arrived at the hospital that night and found her to be in better condition than we'd anticipated. We stayed at her house and visited each day. Mum got progressively worse as her kidneys then began to fail. She became more and more confused, ate less and less and gradually lost interest in everything other than the people around her. She thought she was at home. On Monday 12th of November, Mum spent most of the day sleeping on her bed, only coming around when spoken to. Tuesday 13th, as I held her hand while reading my book by her side, she turned to me and told me that this was no way to go on with life. I agreed with her and told her that if she wanted to go and be with my Dad (who had died in 1985), she should feel free to go at any time. The next morning I got a call from the hospital telling me that Mum hadn't fared well the previous night. I went to visit her right away, but arrived on the ward about two minutes after she'd died. I was given a coffee and placed in a side room. One of the nurses spoke with me while they dealt with the area around Mum's bed. A few minutes later I went in to sit beside her. I told her how much I loved her (which she'd heard many times before) and hoped she felt better now she was in heaven with the Lord and Dad. I had a good solid cry and felt better.
Funeral arrangements were made for Monday 19th, and they, along with the cremation service, went well. Cynthia worked like a slave as we tried to get the house packed up and cleared before our homeward flights on the 21. What would I have done without her?
Our return trip was great. We eventually arrived in Comox airport on the evening of Wednesday Nov. 21. As we came in through the doors Ben and Tim were there to greet us. Cynth and I walked towards them to hug them. when we were at about a 20 metre range, they unleashed their secret weapon on us...a penguin suited Charlotte!! They had been keeping her hidden to the last moment. When she saw her Grandma, she roared into Cynth's arms and gave Cynth the biggest possible hug. I had gone on to receive a huge hug and kisses from our lads, then got a quick hug from Charlotte after. It could not have been a better home-coming and memories are made of these times.
The pictures here are of Mum with flowers on her 95th birthday , June 23 2007 and another one taken of her recently in her kitchen at her home.
Our thanks go to all family and friends who have helped us through this difficult time, and of course the good Lord through whom all things are possible.
