I
have alluded to the fact that I have not been posting on my blog because of
personal family reasons. I have not had
the inclination to write even though I have several projects that I had started.
The stress has taken a toll on me emotionally as well as physically.
I
come from a large family and we have been and still are very blessed. 2015
started with taking my mom to physical therapy 2x a week (after returning from
one month in Nevada helping with my newborn grandson) in addition to all her
other doctors’ appointments. Then one sister tore a muscle in her leg and
subsequently had to deal with a blood clot. The youngest fell and broke her
wrist as well as dislocating her shoulder and toward the end of the year was in
the hospital with diverticulitis and an abscess for which she later had to have
surgery. My older son continued to have problems with a work related injury
after several surgeries to his elbow. My
brother, who had been battling cancer for about 13 years at that point needed
surgery again and was not doing well (in & out of hospitals).
I
flew to Nevada for a week for my grandson’s birthday. Upon my return, my
brother was admitted to the hospital again and it didn’t look good. They discharged
him into hospice care at home with 3 – 4 weeks to live, possibly up to 3 – 4 months
and anything after that would be a miracle. My sister-in-law decided to care
for him at their home about an hour and a half away.
We
all scrambled to make sure to spend some time with him. I took my parents and a
priest (a family friend that my brother & I knew well) to visit. I called
my son in Nevada and he flew in with his whole family. He said he would rather
see him while he was still with us then fly in for the funeral. With all the
family and friends visiting him, our one and only brother rallied. Our sister,
Paula, came in from Michigan about once a month for 4 – 7 days to help with his
care. Another sister and her husband would come in from Michigan and help at
the house one weekend per month. Family
from the Czech Republic flew in and spent time with him in November. His
friends from out of town all made an effort to stop by to visit him several
times. It was especially hard on our elderly parents as they tried to prepare
for the death of their only son. I, as the oldest of 8, was the one everyone
turned to the most for emotional support even though they all tried to support
his wife and be there for each other as well.
I
was busy with taking my parents to doctor’s appointments and going to my own and I was unable to go see my little brother as much as I
would have wanted to. When I saw him in September, he had lost a lot of weight
and I didn't think he would make it to Thanksgiving. Someone let him know that
I had expressed this thought which prompted him to call me and tell me that not
only would he be with us at Thanksgiving, but also through the New Year.
Knowing him the way I do, I knew I could take his word as gospel. With his
wife's care, all our attention and many many prayers, he was here with us for
a total of nine months - truly a miracle.
My brother and I were very close
growing up. We were a year and a half apart and we did most things together. We
fought a lot but we were very protective of each other. In other words, we
could beat on each other but don't anyone else dare touch either of us. We
shared a lot of good and bad times. We did have some friends and independent
interests so we weren't joined at the hip. As we grew into our teens, we
gravitated more to doing things on our own with our own friends. For example, I
really didn't want my younger brother tagging along on my dates. Though I did
have to take him with me a few times at my parents' insistence. Our relationship
changed over the years and we didn't see each other as often, but we continued
to have a strong bond till the end.
Writing was not at the top of my
list that year so I only posted a few times.
