A Week !!!

This past week has been a haze of figuring out what, where and who.  Heather and Jason left for SLC to catch a flight to Westchester Co.  They went to spend a few days in Pennsylvania. They were staying with Krysti until Monday.  Matt and Ashlee, Robert and Michelle and I are flying from SLC to Atlanta and then to Westchester Co.  We will arrive at 9 am and then need to be at St. Anne's for a Mass at 1:00.  I hope we have time to change our clothes.  I am currently at Michelle's house.  I was going to leave for Lander on Thursday and be there for Jemma's dance recital.  I got invited to lunch by 2 friends from Kinghorn/Jefferson for Friday.  I decided to go to lunch and leave afterward to go to Lander.  I was totally packed when Ashlee called and said that she did not think I should try to come because there were storm warnings.  I said okay but would see how the weather looked the next morning and see what the weather was like.  When I checked, there were flood warnings and warnings about rock and mud slides.  I called Ashlee and she said that it had been raining all night and did not think that I should come.  I was ready to leave Idaho Falls--all bags packed and ready to leave.  I had shut the house up for a second time and thought that I might as well go to Michelle's and not have to travel on Sunday.  Here are some pictures that were sent:

Good-byes

This has been one of those weeks.  On Tuesday evening, Heather called to let me know that she had gotten a call from the nursing home.  Betty was not really responding and they thought that she had an infection and had sent a sample to the lab.  I went over to see how she was doing and found her in pain.  I tried to talk to her but did not feel she was responding to me.  Finally, the nurses came in and changed her position and she seemed to calm down.  The next morning, I was making cookies for Brogan and then thought I would go to see how she was doing.  They had been told, that if there were any changes, please call.  Michelle called to see what we had heard and said that she would call them and see if they had any labs back.  She called me back and said that they said that Betty was in the stages of dying.  What??  I left immediately and called Heather to come.  Betty was in pain and the PA ordered pain meds for her.  Through a series of events we finally got the information that she had a very high white cell count.  They said that it was bad and that she wouldn't survive surgery.  She got her first pain meds at about 9 pm. Michelle arrived at about midnight.  She rested comfortably and at 3:10 am she had what I am sure was a joyous reunion with husband Bill and sons, Bill and David.  They are all home now.

It was a week that I anticipate all of April.  On April 27th my Mom had been gone for 10 years.  On May 1st (today) 10 years ago, we buried her.  Seventeen years ago today, David passed away and May 5th is the day we buried him.  Now April 28th will be part of the April memory.

We are all traveling to New York for Betty's funeral.  We will leave on May 8th.  Her funeral will be held at St. Anne's in Nyack New York.  We will spend a couple of days in New York and will all fly home on May 12th.

I have known Betty for 42 years.  She was a good mother to her boys.  She was the same age as I am now when Bill died. She has been alone for 32 years.  She went into assisted living and then into the nursing home.  One of the things that I admired about Betty was that if you asked how she was, she always said that she was fine.  She was happy and accepting of her life.  Many of the people who worked with her at the nursing home came in to say good-bye and express how much they loved her.  They enjoyed taking care of her.  She did not complain.  She dealt with the lost of her husband and sons with dignity.  I am certain that Heavenly Father is pleased with her on that account.

She will be missed.