Farewell Sweet Josephine

My dear mother in law has passed away. After a long and painful illness, her body couldn’t take it anymore, so it surrendered. It has been a hell of a month for her, stuck in the hospital, her memories gone due to Alzheimer, her heart growing larger and weaker, her will to live diminishing with each passing day. It was sad to see her deteriorating in such manner. Not been able to talk, not recognizing even her own family, in pain due to back sores and bleeding from all those needles punches that damaged her already tender body. In other words, a nightmare

Well, that nightmare is over. She left this world while sleeping, alone in her hospital room. Sad ending of a life that was rich in experiences, good and bad, full of love and care for her loved ones, full of dreams that never came to be

I cried, because I love her like my own mother. I have known her since I was 14 years old, even before her son became interested in me. We had a good relationship and she loved me like a daughter. Always happy to see me, always interested in my life

For a long time I prayed for God’s mercy and will. Her suffering was getting to me, bringing memories of my own mother and the 2 1/2 years she spent in a comma due to respiratory failure after an operation. I didn’t want to go through that hell again and I didn’t want my husband to experience the anguish of seeing his mother live like this. Too much pain. And I noticed it in him. But men grieve differently. He even stopped going to the hospital to avoid seeing her fading away

For now she is sleeping. Waiting for the day of redemption. For the living,  her memory and her legacy will be a beacon of hope, strength and endurance

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal”

• » Thu-09/2/10 | cat: The Lady Chronicles