The Last Christmas Gift
After a life fully lived with its mountains and valleys, dignity is the greatest gift of all.
She awoke ecstatic to see us after rushing to the hospital from our Christmas cruise. The e-mails were candid, ‘Mom in hospital. Home can’t deal with outbursts and rudeness!’ This was inevitable after three strokes and a heart attack. Facilities for Alzheimer patients? Good luck! Mortal health and emotional complications, copious drugs, delusional dreams, faltering hope. Widowed at forty, six children and no job; she was...