Friends

My friend Karen who lives in Tuscaloosa called this evening. Our friend Gayle is most likely going to die soon. Gayle has two daughters, ages 10 and 3.

She had a hysterectomy two weeks ago. The surgeon perforated her bowels during surgery and she became septic. She now is in full blown ARDS. It's a respiratory syndrome that has about a 30-70% survival rate. The fact that she developed it after sepsis makes her chances of survival slimmer. She was an ICU nurse for about 15 years. Her husband has been an ICU nurse for about 10 years. Karen said she was alert when they decided to intubate her. She gave everyone a list of things she wanted them to do after she was gone. She knew what she was facing. I can't imagine how scared she must have been.

If you believe in a higher power, please ask for his/her/their/its intervention. For peace, for healing, for a miracle. If you don't believe, then just send good thoughts and wishes their way.

I'm tired of going to funerals.