In Honor/Memory of My Aunt Derlie

On Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 3:30 am, my mother's sister, Derlie, passed away after a battle with ALS (aka Lou Gehrig's Disease). She was diagnosed less than a year ago. It all began with her being unable to hold things in her hands. By the time of her death, she was unable to move, completely paralyzed, unable to even swallow. This disese progressed so quickly in her.

My last visit with her was her birthday almost 2 months ago. We had a nice family gathering at her house. By that time, she was wheelchair bound and unable to move her limbs. But, she could still speak alittle. And she was aware of who was there. I took my girls to her see her. Maddy had a good time "sharing" her stickers with Aunt Derlie (and by sharing, I mean placing about 25 stickers all over Aunt Derlie). She spoke a little to me that day. She thanked me for bringing the girls and for coming to visit. We discussed Baby Lulu's hair. I told her I thought it was going to continue to be red. She disagreed and thought she would eventually have brown hair with red undertones. It's funny that these are the things that I remember from our conversation. She watched my girls intently. I blew bubbles and Maddy chased them around the yard.

I do remember that as I was leaving, I knelt down, gave her hug and told her I loved her. This is a comforting memory for me. You see, I had planned to see Aunt Derlie on Sunday morning. She passed away before I could get there.

Please say a prayer for our family. The majority of the family and extended family do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.