My wonderful mother passes away — 1995
For the two weeks prior to the first part of August of 1995, our mother had complained of various vague ailments, including weakness, lethargy, and mild gastrointestinal complaints. On Thursday, August 4, Mom called me at 10:30 pm complaining of severe abdominal distress. We spent the next four hours in the American Fork Hospital emergency room undergoing various tests with no specific diagnosis or problem identified. The next morning we were back in a doctor’s office with abdominal distress and lethargy. He arranged for an ERCP at Utah Valley Hospital that was also found to be normal. Mom was very sedated following the procedure and we decided to have Dayna spend the night with Mom. At 5:00 am on August 6, Mom got out of bed on her own and proceeded to the bathroom without calling Dayna for assistance. She apparently lost her balance and fell into the bathtub, striking her head on the faucet and tub. She felt relatively well during the ensuing morning but by that afternoon, Mom was confused, disoriented, sweating, clammy, and finally unresponsive. We had her taken to the American Fork Hospital by an ambulance where a CT scan of the head revealed a massive subdural hematoma. A neurosurgeon surgically evacuated the hematoma that night at the UVRMC, and his prognosis for recovery was gloomy due to the size and position of the intracranial bleed. Mom’s eight-day hospital course was relatively uneventful, with only short periods of responsiveness or lucidness. She had a gastric feeding tube placed due to her inability to control swallowing or handle oral liquid. Due to her need for significant nursing care, we arranged to have Mom transferred to the East Lake Care Center in Provo. They took good care of her, but we only saw sporadic moments of awareness, with prolong episodes of relative unresponsiveness. She had an occurrence of pneumonia and also a severe kidney infection, which were appropriately treated. During the last week of August, Mom’s respirations became very labored and rapid. I went in to see Mom at 9:00 on the morning of August 31 and she seemed somewhat better, but then at noon we received a call from the Nursing Home to come down immediately, as Mom was failing. Mom passed away peacefully just before we arrived. My emotions were mixed at the loss of my sweet mother: I was so happy that she no longer had to linger in a debilitated, nonfunctional state, and I was sorrowful that we would no longer enjoy our earthly association with her. I reflected on the countless hours that Mom had spent in selflessly serving others and especially our family. She was an angel and a saint combined. Her funeral services were a fitting tribute to a wonderful mother, wife, grandmother, and friend. I have thought often about the joyous reunion Mom must have had with Dad, her parents, sisters and brother, and others. I honor and respect her memory and her exemplary life.
As I was going through some of mom’s personal effects later, I discovered that Mom’s temple recommend had expired on August 31, 1995, the very same day that she passed away. The symbolism of that coincidental occurrence is self-evident and faith-promoting.
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