One of our residents passed away last week. She had lived with us nearly a year and we expected her to be with us many more. She had Alzheimer's disease, but was fairly early on and was pretty independent. She still recognized her family when they would visit. I was familiar even though she wasn't sure who I was. Yet a sudden health issue led to surgery and a secondary infection. In just a month, she was gone.
Her family was extremely supportive. Her daughter was here almost every minute the last week. Her husband would bring the kids over for visits and he would sit with the resident when the daughter needed a break. One of the sweetest moments was one evening when the daughter and her 18 month old son were sitting with Grandma. The little boy was sitting on his mom's lap and they were looking at Grandma while the daughter was singing Jesus Loves Me.
The little boy most likely will not remember this, but the daughter will be able to carry the memory in her heart for all her days. She will be able to look back and know that she did all she could to make her mother's last days comfortable. She will be able to look back without regrets. And that will comfort her more that anything else.
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