Joan Chittister, in her book Scarred By Struggle Transformed By Hope, writes that change is sometimes forced upon us. I know this to be true. On March 10, 2006, Karen, my partner, died, then 40 days later, on April 20, I had to put my oldest dog to sleep. Losing Karen was almost unbearable. I never realized how she changed every aspect of my life, even the most mundane parts, until she was gone.
On May 6, 2011, all 3 of my cats died. One died at home. I had to put the other two to sleep because they were dying. All three had respiratory infections and antibiotics did not help. The boys were brothers, born together and had celebrated their 18 birthdays in December. They were too old to fight the infection. For nearly twenty-two years there was always at least one animal at home. Suddenly, there were none. That was a change.
Four days after the cats died, on May 10, I had to call 911 for my Mom. She was in respiratory distress and very hot. She had pneumonia. She seemed fine the previous day. No coughing. No difficulty breathing. Each day, she didn't improve. I knew this time she would not come back home. The antibiotics did not help. By Tuesday, it was clear Mom would never be able to breathe without a ventilator. When the medical staff removed the ventilator to see if Mom could breathe on her own, Mom was taking forty to fifty breaths a minute. My sister and I made the difficult decision to keep her off the ventilator. Mom was given enough morphine to keep her comfortable. She died two days later on Thursday, May 19.
I had lived with my mother all my life. I found myself completely alone. No Mom and no animals. I also had to move within two weeks because I could not afford the rent alone. I was beyond overwhelmed. So many changes in such a short time...
Holy Mary, Mother of Creation, bless us
that we may experience God as Love
in praise of all creatures,
in love of all of creation. Amen.
Father Michael Adams - www.livingrosaries.org
Peace and Blessing!
Sister Pat, FMT
