Goodbye

Can't quite explain the month of grief we've had....

We said goodbye to BT's mom this week. 

She suffered a massive brain stem hemorrhage on Monday morning. 

Two weeks before, she had suffered a much milder stroke, more specifically four brain bleeds related to her leukemia.  The two weeks following the initial stroke were spent some in the hospital, the rest in a rehab hospital. 

There was lots of driving back and forth for us, but it was worth it, for her. 

We rushed down here Monday afternoon after we got the call from BT's dad that we needed to come now.  He didn't tell BT how bad it was until he got there.  When we got there, she was already on a ventilator, unconcious.  The plan, at that point on Monday, was to keep her on the ventilator until her mother and sisters could get there from Little Rock, and until BT's sister could arrive from overseas on Wednesday morning.  But sometimes, even modern medicine can't keep what needs to go.  Her heart simply stopped and she passed away Tuesday afternoon.

We had all noticed how much more aggresive the leukemia had gotten over the past few months.  We made it a point to be there as often as we could.  In hindsight, of course, you always wish you had done more.  But I think she knew how much we loved her.  And even after the first stroke, we simply weren't expecting such a massive one to follow.  Everyone felt she was recovering well, which made it quite a shock.

I am comforted by a few things.  First, she knew our newest daughter would be named Kathryn after her.  Second, that we live close enough we got to spend lots of time with her, and her with Thomas, over the past couple years.  And third, that we had a really good visit with her just this past Sunday, right before the end.  In fact, the last picture we all have of Kathy is of her son, and her redheaded grandson.  She told me a long time ago that she always hoped she would have a redheaded child, she just didn't know God planned for it to be a grandchild instead.

The most important thing, though, is that we know where she is, and we are truly and graciously comforted in this fact. 

So we are still here, in Montgomery, until tomorrow afternoon.  Then we'll try to regain some sense of normalcy on Sunday.  BT and I have committed to finally find a church in Birmingham now.  We've jumped around from place to place, and often taking time off for months.  This has made us realize the importance of a church family through how much support his father has here in his.  We're ready to get back to some normalcy, or ready to adjust to our 'new normal.'

This is the last picture of BT's mom. 
We'll miss you terribly....