Today my wife age 48, passed away at 4:22 am. You might just say why am I posting such a story here. Well. I just want to say I am glad my wife is gone. She deserves to be where she is right now because of what she just went through.
You see on Tuesday February 13, our granddaughter's birthday she went to work and made sure she would call my son's cell phone to wish her only 4 year old granddaughter a happy birthday. Knowing she would not get to see her that day she was making it important that she would at least send a voice mail. Little did she know she would never be seeing her again.
My wife works until 10:00 pm and I went to pick her up. Nothing was out of place but a small bruise on the left temple of my wifes head. But really had nothing to do with this. It was just the only thing out of place. Well I escorted my wife out to our truck making sure I held onto her as the sidewalks were thick with ice. Opened the door and safely helped her in. Nothing yet was wrong.
Well on the way home I informed my wife that we would watch a Pirates of the Carribean movie on Wednesday as that was my wifes day off. Still everything was great. My home is five miles from my wifes work and as we were just about to make a right turn onto the last road which was about one mile long, my wife suddenly said she was feeling sick. I began to ask a few questions and was getting some very badly returned answers. I knew just then that we weren't going home. I continued up that road and instead of turning left to my home I made a sharp right and began a trip back towards the nearest hospital. It was now another five miles back in the direction we just came from. I never got to the hospital but instead decided to get my cell phone out to call for help. 911 was what I thought of . I told them my wife was now starting to impeed my driving as she was beginning to slump over my lap even after she snapped on her seat belt. I pulled over and gave them the location. The ambulance was now in route. I could hear the sirens. I was now only a short (less then a mile from the hospital).
Things were beginning to get worse as my wife could not get comfortable and wanted to get out and stand. I complied and found I had a new problem. She became nothing but dead weight in my arms. Not able to stand I now had to get her back into the truck while the ambulance was now on its way. They arrived and sort of felt relieved.
Shortly afterward, they drove her to the hospital but still more bad news was to come. Once in the emergency room, they had to sedate her as she was not cooperating.
They found out quickly that she was having a stroke. But this stroke was different then the two others she had previously in the past two years and overcame from. They concluded that she was now bleeding in her scull and had as much as 2.5 inches of blood. (cat scan) A decision was made to rush her to a different hospital in Pittsburgh. Once there they took another cat scan
and concluded that my wife would never come out of this without being in a vegitated state. My wife and I had talked a lot of what ifs ever happened, and I have to say these little talks helped out a lot. The first was she never wanted to be in this ordeal where she would have to be a burdon to me or anyone else. Second that she wanted never to be an organ donor. Third to be left to die in dignity.
At 2:00 pm Wednesday that next day at my request and hers they took my wife off the ventilator that they put on her the previous evening and took a tube leading to her brain that was relieving the now blood soaked brain pressure out of her head.
The only thing left to day was to now drip morphin in her to comfort her. I was told it could be miniutes, hours or even days before she would die.
My son took me home that evening and I took a bath and changed clothes and drove back to the hospital. My wife was now breathing on her own but was never going to come out of this. I slept in the room that night and for some strange reason I awoke at 4:22 and looked at the clock and then at my sleeping wife. No more noises were heard. I immediatly walked out into the main floor and called her nurse who said she just checked my wife. I said you better do it again as I said she wasn't breathing. Well not one nurse but two confirmed that she had passed on.
Immediatly I cried. However I slowed my tears and began to relive what had happened in the last thirty hours. Why am I crying I thought. My wifes drug covered up pain was now gone. I recall that many times she had questions that she wanted answers to. She would ask me these and I had no words to give. I now knew where she was and I am now so greatfull she's their. She was with the only one being who could give her the answers.
Well you might say why am I posting this. Well one thing she asked before I came to pick her up that granddaughter's birthday was this simple little question. Russ the campsite at Gilford Pinchot that is numbered 152 is that still available for our trip this year. I'll find out dear. This was to be her third trip camping and she was looking forward to it.
It's now 11:09 and I am not angry or even shedding a tear. I will probably do this later tonight when I am in bed but I have a valve now that I turn on to releave the pain when I begin. I just think of the many days my wife had with here granddaughter and the many times she looked forward to having such a wonderful life that I can't begrudge her with little wet tears. I love that woman and know she loves me. but the best part is she loves the LORD.
I said one last thing to my son and future daughter in law when we parted today. My wife left to be with the Lord and left me to be with my granddaughter.
I Love You Debi.
Above: This shot is showing my granddaughter giving grandma a mothers day hug This day my wife was actually having a second stroke which grandma didn't want to go to the hospital until the next day.
