In October 2009, a woman in our small town was diagnosed with cancer. She kept it to herself for quite awhile until the treatments of chemo and radiation forced her to tell those closest to her. All throughout her fight against cancer she continued working and living in her home...alone. Then a few months ago, the cancer came back and she was admitted to Hospice. Her strongest desire was to remain in her home until the end of her journey. But, like I mentioned, she lived alone. So, our community came together to make sure that she could stay in her home. Many people took turns checking in on her and bringing her meals. Then, as the disease progressed, there was a schedule to be sure that every minute of every hour was covered and she was never alone. I was priviledged to be able to be one of those people who helped to care for her. Each day that I stopped there, I was overwhelmed with the amount of support from so many to make sure she could be taken care of in her home.
Last Wednesday, she was called to her heavenly home. She was a strong believer and frequently told me she didn't fear death because she knew where she was going, she just didn't want to leave earth yet...she had much to do. But, at 72 years of age, her fight with cancer was over. She was able to slip away peacefully, in her own home, with her son present....just as she would have wanted.
I am so grateful that we chose to live in this community of 700. Full of caring, loving people who will sacrifice their time to help one woman stay in her home during her final days of life as well as many other random acts of kindness. This is just one small story of the wonderful things happening in our community and I am so blessed to be a part of it.
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