Wednesday 4 April 2012: Farewell, Big Sis
This is me and my sister on the back steps of the house we lived in in 1958 or 59.
She died last night, just me and her daughter present though her son, our brothers and her best friend had been with her most of the day and came back as soon as they could.
She went very quickly and peacefully and though we are devastated we are relieved that her suffering is over.
Everyone is taking a deep breath for a couple of days, coming to terms, starting to grieve. Her illness and death has brought us closer together - I think we will all be grateful for the time we spent with her and each other over the last months of her illness.
Our hearts are heavy but we are happy to have shared our lives together.
March 2013
The photo below was taken on December 20th. The last one of Mum & Dad together. We'd persuaded Dad to come to visit Mum at the home, which he was doing less often as he became more infirm.. It was the Christmas party, complete with someone playing the organ loudly and singing out of tune. It was hard to get Mum's attention for long because the music was annoying her.
Mum died on January 31st after developing gout. She was diabetic and a cut on her leg became infected. It wasn't noticed by the staff in the home; my niece picked up on it but by then it was too late. I often wonder whether the care she received in that home was up to standard, especially given the recent revelation that the Quality Care Commission lacked both quality and care. Still, "they will learn from their mistakes" - is there a more meaningless phrase in use these days?
With Mum gone, Dad more or less gave up the ghost. I flew back from Costa Rica and got home a few hour before he died on March 15th. We went from a family of six to three of us in less than twelve months. To quote Dad: "It's a bugger."
