A Farewell

 On Tuesday, January 23, Maw Maw had an outpatient procedure to remove a stint and break up multiple kidney stone that caused a kidney infection in December. The procedure went as planned, but when she started to get dressed to go home, she was very weak and her blood pressure was extremely low. The nurse in the surgery center started to help her and mom was there very concerned. 

As the evening went on, doctors worked to give her medication to raise her blood pressure and began to suspect that sepsis was the cause. Likely the infection was in her kidney and became stirred up during the procedure - urosepsis. Jeanne' and I joined mom at the hospital as we waited for the doctors to get her stable enough to move from the surgical center to ICU. 

We couldn't see her until she finally arrived in ICU and although the situation was quite serious, we had hope that the four medications to raise her  blood pressure and the antibiotic would work and she would heal. We sat together with her talking, laughing, and telling stories. She was sharp and made several jokes herself. If you can have a beautiful memory of time in ICU, this was one.  

Wednesday they continued to hope the medicine would work. Mom and dad stayed with her, Mom never left her. Jeanne' and I were bleary eyed,   on to work that morning and brought Aaron and the kids back that night. She was agitated and not as clear headed, but she recognized us, gave Charlie a fist bump (their special greeting) and hugged the rest of us. She thought she was stuck in her recliner and wanted help to get up. The additional port in her hand to better measure blood pressure was uncomfortable and she thought it was her cell phone that she could not put down. 

Mom remained overnight Wednesday and Maw Maw's clarity worsened and she became much more agitated. In the wee hours medication to calm her had an effect and went to sleep. She never returned to a conscious state. 

Thursday morning, the doctors explained her kidney (she only had 1) was not functioning. She was too weak to start dialysis and her blood pressure had never improved despite maxing out the medications. Jeanne' and I left work to be there and Uncle Ronnie and Uncle Steve started the drive over in hopes of being with her. We passed the day praying, playing her favorite music, holding her hand, and asking her to hang on for Uncle Ronnie and Uncle Steve. The ICU nurses were so very kind. They explained things, they prayed, they told us stories of their experiences, and helped us pass the time. The kids were welcomed in ICU and they came one final time that evening. 

Thursday night, around 11, mom, Uncle Ronnie, and Uncle Steve made the decision to stop the medicine. We gathered around, I held her hand, and I began to pray out loud. She had not responded to us all day, but as I prayed, she squeezed my hand. At first I was afraid it was because I hurt her and loosened my hold, but she squeezed it again. That was the last bit of contact we had. Her blood pressure stayed at its low level for several hours then began to drop off. She passed away just after 5 am on Friday, January 26. 

The days that passed were a blur of sadness, thinking about logistics, and dreading the reality that she is gone. One bright spot was the thoughtfulness of co-workers and friends from church sending flowers and checking on us. 

These are some of my favorite pictures with her sharing happy days.