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.