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She finally put herself first
My mother sacrificed and compromised for others her entire life. Her decision to put herself first was the last one she ever made.
My father called it from the very outset. Whether it was some telepathic link forged over 60 years of marriage or simply his trademark pessimism, he knew immediately that my mum was not yet gone; but going.
She had been rushed off in an ambulance after collapsing at home. Upon arriving at the nearest hospital, it was quickly realised that she was in urgent need of more specialist emergency care. I arrived just as she was being blue-lighted from the original hospital to the one in which she would spend her final days.
My dad and my sister were waiting for me in the hospital car park. My dad’s opening words were, simply: “We’ve lost her.”
He was right. But not right away. She clung to life for almost two months before she finally passed. She underwent numerous emergency surgeries; and each time — through force of will and sheer bloody-mindedness — she somehow managed to survive. But each surgery left her weaker. And when we were summoned to the hospital for a meeting with her surgeon, we already knew what lie in store.
