This will be a short post. Couldn't sleep and not feeling up to heart for much at the moment. I'll just give a rather dry run through of what happened.

Back when I was about 9 years old, and I had moved into a new neighborhood, we met this old lady. She was kind and nice, and she soon became a sort of "grandmother" to me. She was really talented. She could speak English, Latin, Spanish, and Polish. She could play the guitar and the piano, and was talented in improvisation and in ragtime. She could sing and dance, and would do so often for her church. All throughout the year she maintained a lovely garden and had good knowledge of gardening. When it was not nice outside, she would be inside making and repairing jewelry. She also was a beautiful artist, making lovely works of art in pencil sketches, paintings, and watercolor.

That was ten years ago, when she was 85. I continued to keep in contact with her even when I moved away for school. I continued to visit her all the time during the year, each year. Especially when it came to the holiday seasons. Come age 94, she was in wonderful health, but she started having accidents. Slips and falls on ice would hurt her back and joints. So then she was restricted to first a walker, and then a wheelchair. She still was perfectly healthy otherwise, she had no other health problems. Then end of last year, she had a stroke.

She recovered fine from the stroke, but it was then that she ceased doing the majority of her activities. After that I haven't been able to reach her. She didn't reply to my calls, only a caretaker would pick up. I wrote a letter to her last Wednesday, hoping that it would reach her before Thanksgiving. I included a well wishing card also.

Come Saturday. I receive a call from her care taker. The caretaker finally found my number within Adele's messy handwritten phonebook. She informed me that Adele was not in good health at all. So I rushed over to see her the next day Sunday. Indeed, she was bedridden and unable to move. It was then that I learned of what had happened. She had a second stroke sometime during January. That one caused her to be unable to do the majority of her activities and rely on a caretaker. Her 95th birthday came in July. Three weeks afterwards she suffered a third stroke, this one paralyzing her left side. She still remained able to speak, eat, read, and communicate properly. On the Wednesday that I had sent the letter, she suffered a fourth stroke. She was now also paralyzed on her right side. She couldn't speak or read properly. She could still react and respond and eat. But on Saturday when the caretaker called me, she stopped being able to swallow - hence unable to eat or drink.

I visited her and I stayed at her side for three hours. It was sad. I had gone through a lot with her. Even though she was unable to respond, I talked to her for a good while. I also played piano for her to listen to. She was unable to really respond, as she was only skin and bones at that point. Soon I had to leave.

This morning, at around 8:00am, I received a call from the caretaker. Adele had passed away at 7:20am. I spoke to her son. They were going to hold a memorial in April.

Come to think of it, it's saddening, yet not. Adele chose to sign a will four years ago stating specifically DNR - Do Not Resuscitate. That is don't try to save her life. She also stated that she didn't want tube feeding or anything that would keep her alive. She wanted to pass on naturally.

I think that if she was able to have an expression, she would probably have been smiling. She had a wonderful life. Back then when I spoke to the caretaker, the caretaker told me about how Adele had told her about her friends. She mentioned me a lot too since we were close. Everyone else had known of her situation and had visited her before. I was literally the last one to see her. But I think that was because Adele was waiting for me. She wanted to see me once more before she passed.

I think I knew that at the time I went to see her. At the time plan, to come back the next week to see her again. I knew there wouldn't be much time left. However as I talked to her, she seemed somehow ready to pass on. So what I told her before I left was, "Adele, I'm very happy to be able to see you again. I'm hope you're happy too now. I have to go now Adele, but I'll come back next week to see you again. But for now, you should rest well. You've had a wonderful life and we've all come to love you for who you are. I hope you're comfortable now. Please rest well Adele. I love you."

I think she finally was happy and finally rested well.

Requiescat in Pace Adele. (1913-2008)

-Melody.