My grandmother died May 2008. Although we had been expecting it, we didn't think it would happen the way it did. She had been doing dialysis at home for a while and now was dealing with an infection on both legs. Being diabetic the infection was hard to hold back but they made progress and sent her home on Friday the 23. I was able to talk to her that night. She seemed her old self. Both my aunts were with her and though still worried, they were relieved to be home. Her voice sounded good and strong. I can't tell you how many times that same voice made me smile. I prayed once again that God would heal her. For years I had asked and pleaded with Him to give me the chance to go to Venezuela again so I could spend some time with her and so she could meet Sean. That night I still had that hope.
Tuesday morning she was taken in for emergency surgery with a perforated intestine. That night my aunt Nacarit called to tell me that she has died at 9 pm. She didn't wake up from the anesthesia. I cried and felt useless being so far away unable to help my aunts. Death is very much about the living. It's about those of us left behind to deal with the aftershocks. I knew my grandmother was now sleeping. Sean said it best: "Baby, can you imagine? She was asleep when she passed and the next thing she knows she will be seeing Jesus." How true and comforting. No more pain and tears and days of loneliness for her.
I was disappointed I didn't get to see her one last time and that she didn't get to meet this amazing God-fearing man I had married. But I was so thankful for all the blessings in between. It was a blessing that Ana was with me when I got the news. It was a blessing that she had her daughters with her. It was a blessing for them to have had 3 days at home before rushing back to the hospital. A little calm before the storm. Daisy and I got to talk to her.
I learned many wonderful life lessons from my grandmother. Her story is very interesting. She was given away in marriage at the age of 15 to some stranger that happened to be passing by her town. She raised 4 children on her own. She was always involved in the life and her grandchildren and loved us like her own. She loved me like her own. On the few occasions that she came to the states and we would talk she would take my hands and tell me all the things she wished for me. She would say, "Mariangela, I want you to be so happy. I want you to have something of your own that no one can take away. Someone that loves you beyond anything on this earth. Something that's yours and only yours."
That's the biggest blessing of all. I got to tell her that God had blessed with all she wished for me.
