[nfbwatlk] Last Jim update

[Lauren Merryfield]

Hi,
It is with a mixture of sadness and relief that I write that my beloved Jim died this evening at 6:15PM, August 19th, 2007.  He was exactly 58-and-a-half years old to the day.  

Jim's heart muscle was weak.  He had both bacterial and viral infections in his lungs and they spread to other organs.  The hospital staff worked really hard to keep Jim going, but he was tired, and needed to be at peace, with no more pain and trouble breathing.  

Jim was the sweetest person I've ever known.  He was so helpful to me, without complaint, and hopefully, I was of help to him.  We think that our marriage probably prolonged Jim's life by years.  We were blessed to have celebrated our tenth anniversary May 30th of this year.  This is a much longer time together than we had thought we'd have. 

 We had many enjoyable trips, shared our love of all kinds of music, loved God in our own weird ways, considered ourselves part of the beauty of nature around us,  and we dearly loved our kitties together.  

We will probably have a special memorial service for Jim in September when I can walk again.  Our minister will help us with this service.  He and our Caring Circle know that Jim is gone and will continue the visitations to my home which they had begun when I was discharged from the hospital last Thursday.  The Visiting Angels will continue to come to help me with my ankle issues.  I will have physical therapy and occupational therapy to help me while I am a wheelchair user and as I am able to walk again.  

Jim wanted his body donated to science, so this has been arranged.  I considered an autopsy but we're pretty sure what got him, and I wanted to do as he wished.  We won't have funeral expenses that way so this will be helpful.  

I don't know for sure if Jim is with Mikey, but I hope so.  Speaking of the cats, they hid earlier today, no matter who was here and tonight they all came out into the living room even when Kim, from Visiting Angels, was here.  When I went to the restroom, Jaspur followed me there and gave the most plaintive, long meow.  I know he knows he has lost his Daddy.  

Jim's Mom, sister Ann, and friend, Phillip, were all with Jim today in the physical sense.  I was with him in spirit.  I know he understood why I couldn't be there, since I cannot handle the eight steps out of our apartment building.  Right around the time he passed on, I felt a brief feeling of relief.  I would like to think it was Jim telling me he is now okay.  

I hope Jim's family will not forget about me because they are family to me, too.  They gave me and the world a very ornery, and dear person to love!

Jim visited me in the hospital last Sunday, and we said that we loved each other.  The last time I talked with him, it was brief because he was having trouble breathing.  This occurred on Friday afternoon, the 17th.  Again, we said that we loved each other.  

I do not know what I will do as far as big decisions go, but there is time for all of that later.  I hope people won't ask me too many questions that I can't answer yet.  If they do, they'll just get "I don't know," because I don't know.  

The one thing I do know is that I loved Jim as much as I could love anyone and I respected him greatly.  We had a lot of fun and humorous times together in spite of the illnesses and pain issues.  I will always love Jim with all my broken but mending heart.
Thanks
Lauren
"Think about it, when we are kind to someone we are definitely not unloving -- when we are kind to ourselves, that is loving ourselves -- when we are kind to the Earth, we are demonstrating
love in action. " --Marie T. Russell
CATLINES has moved to a blog at:
http://bizcats.blogs.com/catlines/
Visit us at our catly site:
http://www.catliness.com

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Hi,
It is with a mixture of sadness and relief that I write that my beloved Jim died this evening at 6:15PM, August 19th, 2007.  He was exactly 58-and-a-half years old to the day. 
 
Jim's heart muscle was weak.  He had both bacterial and viral infections in his lungs and they spread to other organs.  The hospital staff worked really hard to keep Jim going, but he was tired, and needed to be at peace, with no more pain and trouble breathing. 
 
Jim was the sweetest person I've ever known.  He was so helpful to me, without complaint, and hopefully, I was of help to him.  We think that our marriage probably prolonged Jim's life by years.  We were blessed to have celebrated our tenth anniversary May 30th of this year.  This is a much longer time together than we had thought we'd have. 
 
 We had many enjoyable trips, shared our love of all kinds of music, loved God in our own weird ways, considered ourselves part of the beauty of nature around us,  and we dearly loved our kitties together. 
 
We will probably have a special memorial service for Jim in September when I can walk again.  Our minister will help us with this service.  He and our Caring Circle know that Jim is gone and will continue the visitations to my home which they had begun when I was discharged from the hospital last Thursday.  The Visiting Angels will continue to come to help me with my ankle issues.  I will have physical therapy and occupational therapy to help me while I am a wheelchair user and as I am able to walk again.  
 
Jim wanted his body donated to science, so this has been arranged.  I considered an autopsy but we're pretty sure what got him, and I wanted to do as he wished.  We won't have funeral expenses that way so this will be helpful. 
 
I don't know for sure if Jim is with Mikey, but I hope so.  Speaking of the cats, they hid earlier today, no matter who was here and tonight they all came out into the living room even when Kim, from Visiting Angels, was here.  When I went to the restroom, Jaspur followed me there and gave the most plaintive, long meow.  I know he knows he has lost his Daddy. 
 
Jim's Mom, sister Ann, and friend, Phillip, were all with Jim today in the physical sense.  I was with him in spirit.  I know he understood why I couldn't be there, since I cannot handle the eight steps out of our apartment building.  Right around the time he passed on, I felt a brief feeling of relief.  I would like to think it was Jim telling me he is now okay. 
 
I hope Jim's family will not forget about me because they are family to me, too.  They gave me and the world a very ornery, and dear person to love!
 
Jim visited me in the hospital last Sunday, and we said that we loved each other.  The last time I talked with him, it was brief because he was having trouble breathing.  This occurred on Friday afternoon, the 17th.  Again, we said that we loved each other. 
 
I do not know what I will do as far as big decisions go, but there is time for all of that later.  I hope people won't ask me too many questions that I can't answer yet.  If they do, they'll just get "I don't know," because I don't know. 
 
The one thing I do know is that I loved Jim as much as I could love anyone and I respected him greatly.  We had a lot of fun and humorous times together in spite of the illnesses and pain issues.  I will always love Jim with all my broken but mending heart.
Thanks
Lauren
"Think about it, when we are kind to someone we are definitely not unloving -- when we are kind to ourselves, that is loving ourselves -- when we are kind to the Earth, we are demonstrating
love in action. " --Marie T. Russell
CATLINES has moved to a blog at:
http://bizcats.blogs.com/catlines/ http://bizcats.blogs.com/catlines/
Visit us at our catly site:
http://www.catliness.com http://www.catliness.com