Saturday, June 13, 2015

Aunt Ruth


My Aunt Ruth is dying.

No. Not some odd Bill "come on" to anchor a bait and switch posting... no... Aunt Ruth - age 96 - suffered a massive heart attack the other day and the damage was... catastrophic.

I received the call at around 7:00 p.m. last night. Her daughter called me. (I say "her daughter" as opposed to "my cousin" because "Aunt Ruth" is "Aunt" Ruth by LOVE... by RESPECT... not by blood.)

Luckily for me... "I have people." After being told I couldn't visit last night because ICU visiting hours end at 7:00 p.m., I "made a call." Five minutes later I received a call back saying "It's taken care of - just use 'this name' and they'll clear you to go up."

THANK GOD for my good friends... (you know who you are)... and THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for facilitating our visit to see Aunt Ruth.

Mary and I spend over an hour with Aunt Ruth. She was surprisingly strong... though tired. She chatted... asked questions... filled us in on what had happened...

I love my Aunt Ruth SO much! She's a wonderful woman; a wonder to behold; a force of nature. Again... 96 years old... and up until the other day as fit as a fiddle - mentally and physically.

Frankly... if it weren't for organ transplant protocols... I do believe she could survive heart transplant surgery; she's that strong.

As it is... there's nothing more medical science can/will do for her aside from making her last days as comfortable as possible.

Mary and I will go visit again later today - after the family has had some alone time with Aunt Ruth. 

When we go back... I'll put on a brave face... just as I did last night.

This sucks. This REALLY sucks. I keep on breaking into tears. I keep on dreading the phone call to come.

We "got the skinny" this morning. Again... thankfully I have my own "channels" and so don't have to wait to get updates from Aunt Ruth's children. A blessing? Yes... in a sense. That said... this isn't "good news" I've been receiving. I don't have the luxury of pretending there's hope. Again... this SUCKS.

Well... as long as Aunt Ruth is still kickin'... (*SMILE*)... Mary and I will be there. And afterwards... we'll be there for "the family."

I'm a realist, but I admit... I'm having real trouble "dealing" with this. I've been doing my best to distract myself...

Anyway... that's the update, folks. 


2 comments:

William R. Barker said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77hneLgt33k

William R. Barker said...

And now… the end is near…
Aunt Ruth has faced… the final curtain…
My friends… I'll say it clear…
I'll state my case… of which I'm certain.
She lived… a life quite full…
She traveled each… and every highway…
But more… much more than this…
She did it… her… way.
Regrets… she had a few…
But then again… too few to mention.
She did… what she had to do…
Ruth saw it through… without exemption!
She planned… each charted course…
Each careful step… along… the byway…
And more… much... more... than... this…
Ruth did it… her... way.
Yes, there were TIMES - I'm sure you knew... when Ruth bit off… MORE than she could chew…
But... through it all… when there was doubt… she ate it up… and spit it out…
Ruth faced it all…
And she stood tall…
And did it… her... way…!
She loved… she laughed, she cried…
Ruth had her fill… her share of losing…
And NOW… as tears subside…
I find it all… so... amusing…
To think… Ruth did all THAT…
And may I say… not in a shy way…
Oh no… oh no, not Ruth… She did it HER… way…
FOR... WHAT… IS… A… GAL…
WHAT… HAS… SHE… GOT…?
IF NOT HERSELF… THEN SHE HAS NAUGHT...!
To... say... the... things... she truly feels...
And NOT the words... OF ONE WHO KNEELS...