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A tribute to my mother. |
| My mom was diagnosed with cancer of the bones and lungs. Mom was no stranger to the fight for your life with a strong enemy, cancer.. Having had breast cancer, they removed one of her breasts and lymph nodes. Then she had cancer in her ear. She endured 40 radiation treatments. I believe the cancer never leaves it just goes dormant in that area, to re-emerge in another. Mom was 84 when she was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. They put her in the palatable care room, where my step father had died. It is the dying room. Everyone gathered around her. We fought the fight with the spirit, that wanted to escape the dying body. I dreamnt that we were all together celebrating Christmas. Telling all her loved ones about the dream, it seemed impossible that mom would walk out of the death room. A week later, that's exactly what she did. I couldn't describe the most loving awesome Christmas we all had with mom. There aren't enough pages or hours of the day, to describe that day. One last Christmas. Everyone gathered. I dressed her like a princess and sat her in a wheelchair. I styled her hair and put pink lipstick on her pretty mouth. Mom didn't miss a thing. She watched me and coached me in cooking the turkey. The love that radiated towards her, like a sunbeam from heaven. Only the heart knows what happened that day. ----------two months later----- I rented mom an apartment near my own, so I could spend every last minute that I could with her. She was diagnosed with c-dificile and had nurses around the clock. I fed, washed her and attended to her when they were not there. I watched my mom fading daily, but her smile never diminished. Her faith in the Lord, and the love around her, embraced her. The threat of death was suffocated by our love. She joked with the nurses and tried to make them smile. To her dying day,all her life, she devoted to making other's happy. A week before she died we had an appointment at the bank to do some last minute things, to do with my power of attorney. Mother and I owned a house together, and the bank wanted to secure their mortgage. I will remember that day like it was yesterday. I had appealed to the bank, that my mother was bedridden and that she could not come in to sign papers, but that I had power of attorney and that should suffice. They insisted that she come in. That night I left to go home, I reminded mom of our appointment at the bank. She looked at me through glazed eyes, and smiled. "I will dress you and get you into the wheelchair", I said. She nodded in agreement and smiled her love for me. The next day when I came in to see my mother, a nurse was just leaving. "Your mother is very dehydrated she said. I don't think she has long." I looked deep into my mother's eyes. The spirit was trying to leave. She seemed disoriented. "No mom, I urged, we have to go out today. C'mon I am getting you dressed and we are going. Do you want to go for icecream?" I asked. She nodded and smiled. Without hesistation I proceeded to dress my mother in her best. I wrapped her up in a beautiful, soft plush robe of blue and white. I wrapped her coat around her frail body, and put a scarf over her head. With all my might I lifted her small 100 lb. body into the wheelchair and got her out to my car. With supergirl strength, I got mom into the front seat and folded up the wheelchair and put it in the trunk. The snow was falling that day. A thick coat of white on the road, like frosting on a cake, and big snowflakes like from heaven. I got behind the wheel and looked over at mom. She smiled at me then looked straight ahead. Just as I'm pulling out on the road, a family of deer dance cross the road in front of the car. Mom stares ahead as they pranced across the road. Mom is frozen in time, with the beauty of the deer ballet. The awe on her face was heavenly. "Wow mom I said, God sent them for you." She stared ahead. We pulled out onto the snow packed road, driving downtown towards the bank. Not being able to park in front of the bank, the snow falling harder now, I had to pull into a place, behind.. Knowing this wasn't going to be an easy task, I first got the wheelchair out of the trunk. As I was pulling it to the front passenger door, a gentleman noticed and came to help me. WE were able to get mom into the chair and I thanked him and got it turned towards the street. Looking at mom's face, I was frightened at the blankness, her eyes not focused. Her skin paled against the snow. Oh, my God, she couldn't die now. Not before we got this banking thing done. A strength and a madness came over me. I started running with my mother down the street towards the bank. The cold wind in her face, and the snow falling faster, it was like something out of a movie. It was our movie. What would it hurt if I just ran down the street with my mother in the wheelchair? I had gone crazy, with the thought of losing her. People were staring, stopping and moving aside. Getting her into the bank was a relief, and she was still alive.. Wiping the snow from her little face, she smiled her love at me, her green eyes lit like a candle. "We made it", I said." The bank manager took us in and passed a paper across the desk for mom to sign. She couldn't sign her name, she could hardly make her hand move. I put my hand over her's and helped her pen in her name. It was done, and we had made it in the nick of time, without huge legal battles. A sigh of relief from me, I pushed my mom out of the bank manager's office, and we headed back towards the door of the bank. I looked up at the tellers and they were all staring our way. "This is the famous Alice, I said, from Alice Had A Palace." Mom waved at them, and they all waved at her and smiled. The whole banked stopped to look at mom. She was like the queen of my heart that she has always been. So regal, so beautiful. Everyone noticed my Alice that day. Mom held on as I ran with her up the snow covered side walk again. If her life was only going to be a few more days, I wanted to give her the ride of her life. . Getting back to the car, I managed to get her in, seat belt and all. We went for icecream, and I got her a lasagne from Tim Hortons. We pulled over and I fed it to her. A picnic on a winter day. One of the last days of my mother's life. Mother died two days later. In peace forever more.............I miss her but know we will be reunited when the bus comes for me. Brenda Rae Schoolcraft. |
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