Saying Goodbye to Empress Head in the Clouds….

My mom passed away on 7/13/2002 at 6:30am from cancer. She was suffering, in a lot of pain.

The night before she passed away my sisters and I named her Empress Head in the Clouds, her Ya-Ya Sisterhood name. I told her before I left that night that I would be back in the morning and that if she wasn't there I knew where she would be and I would be okay.

She became an angel on Saturday morning of 7/13/2002. She had a tear in the corner of her eye when she passed away, she was sad, she didn't want to leave. She was finally pain free and enjoying eternal life in heaven.

The week after her death I was a ZOMBIE. Actually the week before she passed away I was a zombie. Katie and Danny made it in to town to see mom and take care of her before she passed away. Thank God for my sister Katie and my niece Erin, they were a huge help. My mom was under the care of Hospice in-home care when she passed away. Kim Burke, the hospice care nurse, was incredible. She is an angel on earth. She was very patient, kind and caring. Hospice was wonderful! They prepared us for what was going to happen.

My mom died 7 1/2 months after she was diagnosed with cancer. Cancer took over her body, what an awful nasty disease. Cancer sucks!

The week leading up to my mom's death I spent many hours with her at her bedside and in her condo in Maineville, as did my sisters, brothers, in-laws, nieces, nephews, husband and kids. I know that my mom was talking to other angels in her last week of life. One night Katie, my daughter, and I were sitting in her room and she said they want me to come have an experience. I asked her if someone was talking to her and she said yes. I asked her if she wanted to talk to them and she said no. I told her to tell them she didn't want to talk to them right now and she said okay. Earlier in the week I was in her room with Kim, Jackie and Katie, my sister. Mom hadn't said much all day. All of a sudden she opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling and said "GO AWAY!" We all looked at the ceiling and looked at each other.

My mom didn't say much the last few days of her life but she graced us with her smile each morning and a few funny faces. The morning before she passed away I had a winking war with her and she won!