In Loving Memory of My Mom
With profound sadness, I share that my beautiful mother, 70, passed away after a long, heartbreaking battle with Alzheimer's.
This cruel disease slowly stole her memories and words, but it could never touch the essence of who she was—a strong, loving, kind, faithful, and radiant woman who meant the world to me and others. Watching her slip away piece by piece was one of the hardest things I've ever faced, but I will forever hold on to the love, warmth, and wisdom she gave me.
As easy as it is for me to go down the dark path of, why her? Why me? Why does God allow these things in our world? However, what I witnessed firsthand over the past two years showed me God's angels on earth and the courage and strength of one woman, whom I affectionately call Mom, who demonstrated that she saved the best for last.
The photo I'm sharing this year for our team is the last one of my Mom sitting up independently with her grandbaby, Beau. It was taken just a week before she passed. I had arrived with Beau in the morning. Doing what he always did, he ran ahead of me to his mom's room, and he barreled open the door and raced into her bedroom so he could crawl on top of her as quickly as possible. That morning, she seemed lifeless, almost ready to meet her maker, but what happened next was the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed. I had brought an old Snoopy Christmas dog that blasts music and does a silly dance. I put it on the ground, and he started dancing. My Mom sat straight up and started dancing with her right arm and shaking her head with Beau. I fumbled to get my phone because I was taken aback to see her come back alive. She saw Beau, knew he was her precious God-given grandson, and reveled in his pure joy. I got the tail end of the Snoopy dance with the two of them, but this is the picture I captured when the music stopped playing, and Beau walked up to his Oma, and stood patiently and calmly, for Oma to reach for his precious blonde curls and lean down to kiss the Grandson she had been so faithful to pray for. God gave my Mom everything she prayed for that moment; I felt a deep sense of peace and love.
God didn't follow the plan I wanted; instead, He walked me through this cruel disease that robs you of nearly everything, while trying to get me to refocus on the positive things I'm experiencing during these trials. She was strong enough not to allow this disease to take EVERYTHING from her and rob her of her remaining days on earth. She led the way for me on that, like she always did. That is a miracle that only God could perform. That is the faith and hope that my mother always instilled in me.
Love you, forever, Mom.
This year I'm setting a lofty goal for our Team, Rachel's Rebels!
$11,000 for every year that she lived with Alzheimer's
Please consider:
1) Donating to our team of any amount
2) Sign up and walk with us in Baxter on Saturday, September 27.
3) Buy a Rachel's Rebel t-shirt from Quinn for $30, which goes to covering the cost of the shirt, and the remaining amount is donated to the team donation page.
Thank you,
Quinn
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