Dear list members,
Thank you to all of you who sent messages of condolence and support
this past week following the death of my sister-in-law.
Ginger, as she was affectionately known, was a wonderful fun-loving
gal, and I never saw her angry, even when my brother went out to buy a
truck and came home with a horse.
She could always see the funny side of a situation, and when telling
about it later, was able to embellish it and have everyone laughing till
tears ran down our cheeks.
She had been having problems with her legs for some time, and at one
point I thought she had Parkinsons. She was FINALLY referred to a
specialist in Toronto in December of 1996. Al and I met them there, and
the neurologist let me go into the examining room with her, and I
watched as he did all the 'tests' for Parkinsons. When he turned to me
and said, "It's not Parkinsons," I felt a sense of relief, except we
still didn't know what was wrong. Years before she had had a tumour
removed from her spine and there was a suggestion that perhaps it or
another had grown back, so there were many more tests ordered during the
following months.
In March of 1997 while I was in the hospital recuperating from
surgery, we were told she had been diagnosed with ALS, and my heart
sank. Never in my life did I ever imagine that I would wish this damn
Parkinsons on anyone, but this is one time....
Needless to say, she went steadily downhill, but she fought bravely, as
did my brother and her children, two daughters and three sons. The
children are married and some have children of their own.
I'm glad the suffering is over, but the healing process will be a long
and difficult one.
In a message this morning from another friend, she wrote: "I hope that
you'll have the time and space you'll need for the crying. It's going to
take a while, don't you think?" It is going to take a while.
To some of you I will write privately, but every day I am thankful I
found this list, and I wanted you all to know how much I appreciate you.
Judith
--
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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