In Memory

For those of you who don't know, my mother took care of an elderly lady a few nights a week for a second job. When they needed a fill in I would go and care for her. I usually went a couple times a month. her name was Maxine Christensen and she lived in Salina which is about 45 minutes from here. She was 87 and very sweet. She was starting to forget alot and she would ask you the same question over and over, but she always said thanks for everything you did for her. She was still very mobile so we would just sit and visit with her, fix her dinner, make sure she took her medicines and helped her to bed. She would wake up in the night sometimes so we would just be there to make sure she didn't fall down. In the mornings we would help her dress, check her blood sugar and fix her some breakfast, clean up a little and then go home. It wasn't very hard work and I really enjoyed going over there. Listening to her stories was always fun. Every once in a while she would Ask for her husband and I had to remind her that he had passed away and that was always really hard. About 6 weeks ago was the last time I took care of her. I went two nights in a row and I could tell she was not doing very good. She was up almost all night and very confused. I felt so helpless because there was nothing that could be done. Her daughters took her to the doctor the following Monday and decided she needed to be admitted to the hospital. She continued to worsen and wasn't strong enough to go home. I went to see her on Christmas Eve so I could say goodbye because I knew she was going to pass away soon. Last Wednesday she left us, I attended her Funeral today and it was really nice. They asked my Mom to speak and she did a great job. I'm so blessed I got to be a part of her life but I'm so glad she was able to die in peace so she wouldn't be in pain anymore. It was so sad but I know she is in a much better place.