Suddenly alone after 72 years

This weekend should have been a fantastic weekend. I was let out of work an hour early on Friday for the holiday, it was sunny and 70 degrees. But unfortunately, I had just gotten word that CP’s great uncle had just passed. The news itself wasn’t that much of a shock. Two weeks ago, he had a bad fall in the kitchen and broke his femur. At 96, this requires a major surgery. One that after it was over, the doctors decided to put him in a medically-induced coma. When he wasn’t recovering, the family decided to pull the plug Thursday night.

Up until a few months ago, he was doing well for 96. He still drove (!) and was able to walk (albeit very slowly). At Christmas, we were given a hint that he wasn’t doing very well. He had fallen and hit his head on the corner of a table. Three weeks later the knot on his forehead was still very prominent and you could still see the blood beneath his skin that had drained down in his face and neck. He was proud to show off his pictures and his “war wound,” but it looked like it was painful.

To have lived so long and to have been healthy for so long is amazing. I am happy that he not only was able make it to our wedding, but also dance! He and his wife had been married 72 years (!) and said to us late last year that they hoped that our marriage will last that long. While I think that CP and I are a bit older than them when we got married, I guess it’s possible….

Yesterday, CP’s great aunt seemed to be with it and handling everything okay. At 91, she is getting older and after 72 years of living with someone, I can’t imagine what it is like to suddenly not have the person that you have spent almost all of your life with not sleeping in the bed next to you. Not eating meals with you. Not sitting on the couch with you. Not sharing stories of your kids, grandkids, great grandkids and great-great grandkids (amazing, huh?). However, we are all worried what happens when the family has to leave the house and she is suddenly by herself. She is not quite ready to pack up and move out to a limited assisted living facility- she and her husband lived in their current house for over 30 years. But how safe is she living in a house by herself?

Today is the wake and tomorrow is the funeral. *sigh*