Giada and Zoe with Grandma Ann the night before she died

Brad’s mom passed away today.

It was surprising really. I mean we knew it was coming but we thought we had a month or more. She would have been 70 on the 20^th and I think in my mind I thought for sure she would see her birthday.

She was fine until yesterday. She woke up and was coherent but often disoriented. Whenever she closed her eyes she would talk to people who were dead for years. She would fall asleep and her hands moved all the time, acting like she was eating or writing something. You could hear the fluid in her lungs though. When you shook her awake she was surprised to see us there, but was talking. She was even up walking around and held Giada twice. She was very annoyed about us ordering her a hospital bed from hospice as she loves her temperedic and thought it was silly to have a bed brought in. This picture of her, Giada and her dog Zoe was last night about 6pm.

Thankfully she only had to sleep in it for one night. She took medicine all night but basically was already passing this morning as she could not be roused. Nurses were there and they couldn’t tell us how long, but the thought in the next 2 days or so. But it was just not to be.

In the end it was just me, her and Giada there together when she died. Brad and his sister Jenny had gone on an errand, to spend some time together as Ann seemed fairly stable. Giada and I were at her bedside when she began to pass. Her eyes had opened as I was talking to her about Giada and I was holding Giada up for her to see her and she was rousing slightly trying to talk a little when her breathing changed and the nurse told me that that signaled the end was near. I managed to get Jenny and Brad on speaker phone as they were returning home and they both got to say their good byes loud and clear for her to hear. I held her hand and told her how much we loved her and how lucky I was to have the opportunity to really KNOW my mother in law as we had battled her cancer together. I told her how glad I was that she had had time with Giada. She died quickly and peacefully.

I’m grateful she didn’t linger and wasn’t in pain but am very, very sad myself and even more so for Brad.

Cherish the time you have and give your family a hug and kiss tonight. We’re blessed to have each other.