I'll never forget the day our grandmother, Grandmere' Claudia Moliere', died...
It was five years ago several months back, like back in February. Our grandmother, who was maman's maman, had been seriously ill with cancer (brain cancer, to be more exact), and she went rapidly downhill in a matter of a few short months. (She had been suffering from intense headaches, blurred or double vision, weakness on one side of her body, and other alarming symptoms, and she would often black out and end up passed out on the floor. When her husband, Armand, took her to the hospital for tests, it was found that she had brain cancer, which is, invariably, almost always fatal.)
She started undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments, to try to slow the progression of the cancer, but the treatments caused her numerous physical problems, among the worst being severe nausea, the loss of her beautiful Cajun-black hair, extreme weight loss (she fell from 159 pounds down to a scrawny 90 pounds by the time she was near death), and suffered incredible, intolerable pain. Many nights Armand would sit by her bedside as she screamed and cried out in her pain, and many nights she would awaken us up with her cries.
It was very upsetting, especially to the younger kids (Johnny, Ronee', etc.), who were then still too young to know--and understand--what was going on with their "Granny". All they knew at the time was that "Granny" was very sick, and she needed a lot of help. They didn't understand the concept behind "Cancer" and what it all entailed. They didn't know much about dying, except that people or animals who DID DIE just went to sleep for a very long time and didn't wake up (as daddy told them).
It was also very upsetting to maman, as it was HER mother who was the one who happened to be dying. She was very close to her mother, and it really bothered her to see her suffering so much from the unending pain and misery.
Three months after she had been diagnosed with the brain cancer our grandmere' died. We were all in the room with her, and she lay in the bed, gasping for each and every breath, her nightgown soaked with her perspiration, her face all drawn up with pain. She looked like she was really suffering; yet, when we called her name she didn't answer, as she was mostly unconscious (mostly from the painkilling drugs given to her to relieve her pain somewhat, but also because now she was getting closer and closer towards death; she was now in a comatose state).
Suddenly, she sat up and cried out in French. We don't know what she had said, but we knew that her time was nearing its end. She then fell back onto the pillows, breathed a long, gasping, ragged breath, and then went limp.
She had just died.
For her, her suffering had FINALLY come to an end.
But for us, it aggrieved us, for the grandmother we had loved and cherished so dear in our lives and hearts was gone--forever. She was now with Jesus. She was now on her way to Heaven. (We HOPED.)
It's now been five years since that day, but a day DOESN'T go by where we DON'T think of her or miss her; we still miss Grandmere' Claudia TERRIBLY. She was really truly something special. She could cook Cajun dishes that were absolutely OUT OF THIS WORLD, she loved to dance to the Cajun music that we regularly played around the house, and she laughed and smiled quite often. She was a very happy person. And a very kind person, to boot.
And she deeply loved her five daughters and their families, and she made sure they had all they needed. She was very protective of them all.
Yes sir, our Grandmere' Claudia Moliere' was certainly one of a kind; she was definitely a special force in our lives.
Grandmere' Claudia: WE MISS YOU AND WE LOVE YOU ALWAYS AND FOREVER!!! GOD BE WITH YOU ALWAYS!!
Wow, very good story. Lots of stories in your den here. I like this story because it shows how warm your grandmother was and I like how you said that her suffering was over, but yours was beginning when she died.
It's almost Christmas. Lynn Basil is writing her last book about a secret entrance into the magical doll land of Sha Bebe that she loves so much. Bagannos have taken over the world! Lynn finally meets her dolls in real life. Can she write in a Secret
It's almost Christmas. Lynn Basil is writing her last book about a secret entrance into the magical doll land of Sha Bebe that she loves so much. Bagannos have taken over the world! Lynn finally meets her dolls in real life. Can she write in a Secret
