StrokeSurvivorBlog

After a 12-year battle with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, Steve’s mother left this earth last Wednesday to go to Heaven. The funeral was yesterday and we are all grieving the emptiness her death left in our hearts.

We know she is with the Lord and that gives us peace. In her last days she told me it wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be. I asked her what she meant, and she said, “Dying is easier than I thought it would be.” She was in complete peace knowing that she would soon meet her Savior. Several times when she had awakened from a deep sleep, she opened her eyes and thought she was already in Heaven with her family gathered around her.

During her twelve-day stay in the hospital, we saw her on several occasions. This was especially hard for Steve because his emotions have been out of whack since the stroke. He could not control his grief and wept openly, which triggered tears in all of us. The last two weeks have been very emotionally draining for him.

As other family members gathered from around the country to be by her side, she was able to say good-bye to all of them except her only brother. His plans to come from Florida to Wisconsin were slightly delayed when his wife suffered a TIA (mini-stroke) and was hospitalized. However, he did speak with his sister on the phone, but by the time he had arrived, she had already slipped into unconsciousness.

Steve’s mother asked our daughter Pam to say a few words at the funeral. Pam is the first-born child of her first born child. She wrote a beautiful poem as a tribute to her grandmother, and we all cried when she shared it. We are mourning our loss, but at the same time we are rejoicing that she is in a better place with no more pain or tears. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, 6 children and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.