My Aunt Mary has been dying for the last few weeks. She was such a private person, she would likely have been appalled that I am writing about her, even as a tribute and a goodbye.
However, the end of her life has consumed mine for quite some time, and I have no other words today as she reaches the final hours.
Aunt Mary is 100 years old, still an incredible age by any standard. She was a teacher of deaf children in her working life, her great contribution. She was blessed with good health, stamina and an unending curiosity about the world around her.
Read Also
Crop profitability looks grim in new outlook
With grain prices depressed, returns per acre are looking dismal on all the major crops with some significantly worse than others.
She loved to travel, and retirement allowed her to visit places most of us will never see.
I think she was 92 when she took a tour to Cambodia and Vietnam. She had always wanted to see the spectacular ancient monasteries at Angkor Wat, built in the 12th century, and she did it after nine decades of life.
Until two weeks ago, Aunt Mary was never in a hospital as a patient. This proved to amaze some of the hospital staff, as it did me. How does one get to be 100 without ever going to the hospital?
What breaks my heart is that until the end, she was worried about me. She was always concerned that I was doing too much for her; that I was taking too much time off work to deal with her health care and to visit. I could not persuade her that it was OK, and I profoundly hope that before she passes away, she will accept that whatever we did for her was not only our responsibility but our pleasure.
We had tremendous support from home care, the hospital staff and the great people at Luther Tower in Saskatoon. That made me wonder, many times, how we would have managed if we did not live in a city, where shuttling from doctor to home to hospital and back was a trial but not insurmountable by distance.
How much harder it must be for many people in rural communities, especially when juggling health issues and work.
Going by my experience, knowing it’s more difficult out there, my heart goes out to you if you’re faced with this kind of situation.
It’s hard enough just saying goodbye.
