It was Friday when I got a call from my cousin,
Suzie. She lives in California and asked me where
my mother was. I told her Mom’s at home, and then
I called her…. No answer! I just talked to my
mother on Thursday night, where could she be? I
usually call her every evening around seven o
‘clock just to check in and see how her day went.
No answer! I called the hospital, and there she
was.
“Hi Mom, what’s going on?”
She said she wasn’t feeling well, so she called an
ambulance and they are looking her over.
“Good, how are you now?”
“Okay! But, tired.”
I asked her, “Should I fly in?”
She said, “Don’t be silly, I am OK.”
Shortly after, I received a call from my
daughter-in-law, and then, moments later, my
friend, Linda, called. And they said, “Come home
now.”
Mom’s 95 years old, and she handled things quite
well. She lived on her own, cooked, shopped, went
on walks daily, drank at least 2 quarts of water a
day, and read 2 or 3 novels a week. She did very
well on her own, and she always did. Independence
had always been her middle name. She was in charge
of herself and everything she did. If you asked
anyone in the family or any of her friends, they
will tell you that she knew exactly what she
wanted and made no bones about it. If Mom said she
was going to do something, she did it!
There was a little tale that she told now and then
to let you know where she stood…
“When I was younger, if I didn’t like something
someone was saying or doing, I’d just say, that’s
Bullshit. Then, I was sent off to charm school and
learned to never say Bullshit as it wasn’t
lady-like. They told me if I didn’t care for what
someone was doing or saying to just say,
Charming.”
Often, you would hear mom talking to someone on
the phone or in a business meeting, and you would
hear her say, “That’s just charming.” This would
bring a smile to my face as I always knew just
what she meant.
I flew in to Detroit on Saturday and went right to
the hospital. She seemed to be fine. In fact,
after a few hours of visiting, she sent me away
and wanted to make sure I ate dinner. When I
called Sunday morning, they said she had been
moved to Intensive Care Unit (ICU). When I got to
the hospital, Mom asked me to sit down. She told
me that today would be her last day on earth, and
she refused all medicines as she wanted to be
awake for this one. Then, she called my son in
Arizona to say goodbye.
He asked, “Grandma, is there anything that I
should do?”
“Yes. Plant a tree in my name, and call it Betty
Boop.”
Afterwards, she asked all the children and great
grandchildren to come in the room and asked them
if they knew what was happening. Mom explained
that death was just another part of life, and we
all have to go through it. The last thing she said
to everyone was that she needed some private time.
And, she was gone within an hour.
Mother was in charge right up to the very end.
I miss her. She was one of the awakened ones.
I wish you the best in your Health, Wealth, and
Happiness.
Dr. Wu Dhi
P.S. If you’d like to see the memorial service,
you may visit www.dorfmanchapel.com and look for
Elizabeth Swartz.
