Donna's Passing

I've spent much of the past few weeks visiting Donna at the hospital and most of that time believing she would recover but it wasn't to be.  Donna passed away this morning.

I consider myself a very lucky person to have enjoyed Donna's friendship for 62 years.  Just think how long that is and how ingrained we became as friends.  I have a lifetime of memories with Donna and, believe me, we survived some rough times.  Donna had a perfect little son, Todd, and then what we thought was a perfect little daughter, Jill, but it turned out that Jill was severely handicapped for her 44 years of life.  Donna and Frank cared for her at home and gave her all the love they could.

Todd married and had his 2 sons, Mitchell and Ryan, and that gave Donna 2 more offspring to love.  She took care of them while their parents worked even while giving Jill the extensive care she needed.  I believe those were happy years for Donna.

After Jill passed away a couple of years ago, Donna had more free time and we started meeting on Tuesday afternoons for Swedish weaving, tea and home made goodies (made by Faye or Donna), and lots of chatting and laughter.  Those were precious times and I'm grateful we had them.

Donna held strong when her leg was amputated a few weeks ago because the infection prevented her from having the heart surgery she desperately needed.  We though she was recovering well but her heart was just too damaged.

Her mind remained lucid right up to the end and I know she left this world knowing how much she was loved by her family and friends.  That is all that counts in this world and I wish more people could understand that.  Nothing matters except the love of family and friends.

I look at her sitting spot on the end of my sofa and I smile because the memories are so good.  We didn't know it at the time just how memorable those moments would be for those of us left behind.  Treasure your moments!