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Gone in Three Months

by Michelle Delaney

Yes its true - I lost my Mam & Dad within 3 months. Mam went first on 30th May 2002 - she had had a stroke a few years ago which left a very outgoing, sociable, strong woman in pain and near to the end of her life, house bound. The pain of watching this was immense and to be honest horrible. My Mam the bold, the fearless, the "I'll do it myself then" because me and Dad were not quick enough for her, had been human after all and dealt a very cruel blow. But true to form, she coped and did it very well. The truth is that because she was such a strong person, she lived as long as she could have done following that severe stoke. Her passing was very peacefull, just as she would have wanted it to be - I got an email at work to contact the hospital - when I called they said that my Mam was very ill and to come asap. I did, driving like a bat out of hell down the 50 mile motorway to her bedside. I made it in time, or she hung on for me (I prefer the hung on one) - who can say which one is true but I got the chance to say goodbye, kiss her and stroke her hair - I also said to her "it's okay Mam, you can go now - me and Dad will be okay" and she slipped away. I am so proud to say that she watched me come into this world and I watched her leave - it was the most precious moment of my life. The grief was slow to come, at first I could not believe it - it was a bad dream, surely! - no it was not because the funeral arrangements were being made and we were there doing this. My Dad was trying to be strong, but I could see this was killing him - he said when we went to see my Mam at the funeral home "you left me too soon" - how true he was.

The funeral was as nice as it could have been and a very fitting tribute to this very special Wife, Mother & Friend. My Mam's favorite singer, Elvis was played for her which she would have loved. We got through the day with excellent help and support from Scott, my godparents, Scott's family and very special friends.

So what now for me then - well I concentrated on making my Dads life a good as it could be after losing my Mam. The first set back came 2 weeks after Mam died. The family dog - Jasmine - my dads mate, took ill and had to be put to sleep. Dad took this hard and I felt more pain for him - he was alone now in the