This was put on my web site by an anonymous donor. I think it is a beautiful story about relationships. How we touch each other and are interconnected in ways that are not always apparent.
My mother and Mrs B. were skilled nursing facility roommates for close to eight years. During those years, Mrs B., a stroke victim, had many hospitalizations as her health slowly deteriorated. It wasn't unusual for her to be gone for periods of several weeks to months. We often feared that Mrs B. had died but she would returned. My mother's was always so pleased to have her companion back.
Mrs. B. was a quiet lady. Due to the stroke she had difficulty communicating verbally but she tried. For a long time, she was spoon-fed puréed food while she sat in a tray chair (a wheelchair with a tray attached). Eventually, she was unable to get out of bed and used a feeding tube for nourishment. Finally, she could no longer communicate with us.
During this time my mom had her own health issues and she began to decline as well. Six months before her death, mom developed dementia and clearly had begun her end of life journey.
On a Sunday morning at 7:15 a.m. my mother died. Much to everyone's astonishment, Mrs B. died an hour later.
