It has been almost 6 months since I put thoughts to blog pages. This entry is about having the courage to continue and the resolve to live your life and meet your goals.
The weekend of Dec.2/3 saw my brother and I take our 78 year old mom to the hospital. She was just not looking well. After much arguing and fighting between the three of us, she relented and we got her onto a stretcher and into an ambulance. Well along with our youngest sibling, the three of us tagged teamed to give as much support and love to our mom, as we could….I spent most of my work days on the phone with various social agencies, social workers, doctors, care givers, etc while my brother and sister spent time at the hospital.
One of the most difficult moments came when we realized our mother just did not/could not comprehend that she had stage 4 colon cancer and blood clots…So, using an analogy that I knew she would understand, I explained how her cancer was growing all over her body, just like mould does on old bread. Eventually, you cannot just pick a small piece off and throw it away – you have to throw out the whole loaf.
Our mother received compassionate, gentle and kind care from the nurses and palliative team – she passed away on Dec. 29, 2017.
For me, I have grieved, but not as much as the next person. My siblings and I did not have the most loving and easy relationship with our mom. The worst part for me was sharing her death with my two sons…. They were both devastated. My older son went out the next day and had a tattoo done on his wrist, which records the last day he saw her.
It has taken me the last couple of months to get back into my routine. For those that I talk to periodically/regularly, when they ask how I am, I tell them – I am embracing my new reality – my mother passed away from colon cancer last year.
I don’t want to waste another precious minute of life….. I have so much I still want to accomplish. I underwent my first colonoscopy – a clean bill of health. But I am not taking that for granted. I’ve lost 7 lbs since the beginning of December. Now I want to lose more cause I’m doing all the right things and not because I just had no energy or interest in eating.
Tonite I will head back to the pool – I’ve only been three times since mid – January and have only been at the gym twice. Not a moment to waste. Like the ad for GoodLife Fitness says – Live for it! That will be my new motto.
We shall talk soon! Thank you for reading. Joye
Single Older Woman - Living Life Passionately 