She has had 2 stints put in her heart and both legs and this time they did the one in her liver and it has made a huge difference. She is at home now and still has normal blood pressure. They gave her a prescription for half the strenght she was taking in case it goes back up but so far so good. She is sore but in good spirits. I will be making plans to go down there when the weather warms up and we can go to some flea markets and book stores. She likes to read. My uncle is still being weaned off the ventilator but is stable and getting a little better. That is a big relief to my Mom since he is too far away from her to go see in her condition. Thanks for all the well wishes. I am glad everything is working out so I don't have to stress so much.

I had a Haylcon sit on the kitchen counter wrapped in the wet paper towel and plastic wrap it was shipped in for more than 2 weeks once. It survived! Last year we had 75 hostas in the living room until the danger of last frost passed. I believe that was about a month. Your hostas will do fine sitting in temporary containers until you plant them in the ground. Remember to water them though. Gesila

Tara, it is just amazing how I can relate to your story as well. I was in Philadelphia on campus when I got a call from my sister at right about 5:00PM when she notified me of my mom's passing. And recently, I have been spending most of my time with my good friend who is also a Christian. I asked him how to convert someone into Christian if there's no "legitimate proof" that a non-christian would believe in. He told me that the proof is clear and its everywhere..it's just that we fail to recognize them. Well, I'm guessing 5:00PM is good! I'm not sure if I'm making any sense right now, but I believe that all of our moms are having a wonderful time right now, especially since we all have faith in Him. I think the best way to interpret the reason behind our mothers' early departure is to bring us closer to Him. I just read a verse in the Bible last night and it says that if you are able to give up anything for Him, even a family member, you will find eternal happiness in Heaven. My mom's passing reminds me of how much she loved me. Sacrifice is love I heard...how Son of God died for our sins. If I didn't have faith..I probably would have gone crazy. The more I try to understand Him, the less painful it gets. I know..it's hard to keep up with all of the prayers everyday...but try to think more about God and try to appreciate everything that has happened. Appreciate even the smallest thing, like a nice weather you know... It sounds crazy, I know, but everything really happens for the good of us. I wish I knew the exact answer to this but I'm sure He is putting us through such testimony to make us into someone better. Remember that we only have one chance in life... so make the best out of it to serve Him. And start going to church if you havn't....I have been really good about going to church since my mom's passing, but every week, I learn something new and something relevant. For example...we had an Easter prayer meeting last Friday and the pastor reminded us about His love and to love one another like how He loves us. He also mentioned to ask forgiveness (to someone you know...ie friends) if you did something wrong in the past. The following day, I was on AIM and saw my very first GF online. I told her I was sorry for what happened before and she actually said "it's okay it's past." It is just crazy...for EIGHT years, she has not said a word to me and has been ignoring me since I tried to talk to her after the breakup (I was a jerk...). I felt 100x better than what I was after being forgiven...So I strongly encourage everyone to keep their faith strong and try to go to church regularly. Going to Heaven is not all about going to church though...it's about your personal relations with God. I hope everyone is doing well and please KIT! This forum is also very helpful for me as well... GL with everyone!!!

I don't get to go on the internet too very ofter but am glad I found this sight. I have been trying to remember the good things without waking up the pain. It has been very difficult but I think it has worked a few times. I feel very guilty about not having been there his very last breath and see him there waiting to die. My Dad had an abdominal aortic aneurism. Last August he had a GI bleed. The doctors told him it was a small one but the next one was going to kill him and he didn't have long to live. My Dad wanted to go home and get his affairs ready and I hired someone to come in and help him as he had numerous medications to take and he was getting weaker because of the blood he lost. My Dad and I lived in separate cities and I have 3 smal kids at home. This one particular night I called him and asked him what he was doing and he said, "I just had Mr.? over from the funeral home and I picked out my coffin and arranged the music and the legionaire tribute and so on." I was mortified. My Dad was a strong man, he just wanted to die at home and when that happened he didn't want anything to fall in my hands to arrange. For the next few months I watched him die as he got more and more weak. He hated taking the pills so we decided if he just wanted to take his pain pills just to keep him comfortable that was all he had to take. The first of November I had to go to Toronto on business, I was in a meeting when my phone rang it was my Dad. He told me that he called the ambulance because he was vomiting blood andhe figured his time was up so he said he called to tell me he loved me and that I was his favorite and that he was very proud of me. I told him I was on the next flight out and he said he would try and hold on to see me one more time. I made it home to find him back home and drinking his cup of tea in his favorite chair. You see they did not have a bed for him and sent him home. Dad was on a waiting list to get into Paliative Care at the hospital. Dad was a veteran so it didn't take long once Dad had come to the conclusion that he would get better care there. From mid November to December when he passed away I had rec'd 9 calls that this was it and I better get to the hospital. Each time I would get there he would be sitting up talking or sleeping. The last week I was there Saturday night and we had spent time with Dad in the TV room and he said that my little brother was going to bring in Dad's dog the next day. We had a good visit. Sunday my little brother sat with Dad. Monday my Mom and my sister (no longer married to him and my sister was not his) went to see him and they said he had ate some fried chicken and had a great day up talking and making fun. Monday night I spoke to him on the phone and he said he had a good day and he loved me very much. I wasn't able to go down on Monday as my husband's grandmother had died over the weekend and we went to her funeral. Tuesday morning I got the call, I rushed down to see my Dad looking like death was on it's way. My step Mom had passed away in 2002 and she had the same look before she passed away. When I got to the hospital my 2 brothers had already got there. They said he had been out of it and was not responding to anything. I went in and sat down beside him and cried like a baby while I was holding his hand. He squeezed my hand a a couple tears rolled down his cheek, he knew I was there. I stayed all week in his room until Saturday, it was my daughter's birthday I had to go home I hadn't seen my kids all week. At 2:00am on Sunday I called and asked if my Dad was OK and they said he was the same and I told her to tell him I would be there first thing in the morning and to tell him I loved him. At 5:15am I got the call that my Dad had took his last breath. I hate to hear the phone ring in the middle of the night. I honestly think he waited until I was gone to die because he didn't want me seeing him like that. I now have a very big guilt that I was not there for him but am trying to put that feeling away I was there when he needed me most. He did not die alone though one of the nurses there was the daughter of a real good friend of my Dad's and she was there when he passed away. I went to my Dad's house after the funeral with my brothers and we packed up a lot of my Dad's things. I brought home his PJ's and his robe. After the funeral I felt so helpless, no more travelling to see Dad no more long distance phone calls, no more Dad. I was having a hard time sleeping, each night at 2am I would wake up and could not go back to sleep I was having a hard time breathing when I layed down so I had to get up. 2:00 was the time my Dad's funeral was. I was having anxiety attacks. Christmas Eve I was still having a hard time sleeping it was nearly 2 weeks since he passed away. I was up again at 2 so I got up and went down stairs and cried non stop. The kids got up at 8am it seemed like forever. My girls are so great and if it were not for them I think I would have probably curled up and died. The was a gift underneath the tree from my Dad, he had given it to me in November and I had forgotten all about it. When my youngest daughter found it with my name on it she passed it to me ever so gently as if it were a rare diamond. I always looked forward to opening my Dad's gifts because they were always so off the wall. This year it was a father and daughter figurine, it made me cry and my girls hugged me so hard. Over the years my Dad got me a meat slicer, a vacuum sealer, a set of wind chimes that were so loud that I remember one night going downstairs outside and throwing them on the ground. I loved his gifts because they were gifts that you would never go out and buy yourself. I would give anything to see his old hen scratching on a gift or card. The year I turned 40 and I didn't receive any flowers from my Dad the first in I don't know how many years. Anyways Christmas night I landed in the hospital the doctors gave me all the usual tests and couldn't find a reason for my shortness of breath and my chest pains. She asked me if I had a family history of heart problems and that is when I broke down in tears and could not stop crying she didn't know what to think until I told her about my Dad. She said that grief can do a lot of weird things to your body and mind. She told me nothing was physically wrong with me and gave me some anti depressants. I did not take them when I found out there was nothing physically wrong with me. That night I slept past 2am I awoke at 4:30am I was so excited that I broke the pattern. I suppose I have said enough tonight, thanksd for all your words of wisdom and thanks for letting me ramble. Take care to all and God bless.