Margaret Helt
with son John, daughter MaryAnn, and the late Clifford Helt,
Burlington IA farmer
who himself took 10 days without food and water
before he passed
A pickup with its battery on ground
seen at the Dousman WI Firkus farm sold by me as a realtor, once
John's mother Margaret takes a motorcycle ride in 2008 with a friend
Margaret does a stint at a local food pantry
...................
Margaret Helt today lies dieing hard
in a Burlington health facility
with her family at her side,
if she goes......
This report from John this morning:
|
Dear Friends
I wish I could report that Mom crossed over in the night, but....
Yesterday morning she rallied a bit: puckering her lips for a kiss, opening
one eye a bit, and moving her jaw as we sang hymns and prayed. I thought that
might be the final push to get to the other side of that apparently deep and
wide river. But it wasn't.
Cindy's father lasted 10 days after food and drink, so we know this could
potentially go another two days. Every day is another notch lower, but she has
not yet hit bottom.
Everything is set and we are just waiting. We have said and sung and prayed
everything we know.
If her death does not occur by 3 this afternoon, we call Anni in Boston and
tell her not to get on the plane, and her brothers not to rush here
tomorrow, and we move our plans into the future.
The one good thing is that Mom is not suffering.
As I reassured son Aaron last night, it is OK to pray for death at this
point.
John
(John will eventually do his mother's funeral.)
......................
From The Writers Almanac, Garrison Keillor
Jan. 27, 2012
Don't Look Back
This is not
a problem for the neckless. Fish cannot recklessly swivel their heads to check on their fry; no one expects this. They are torpedoes of disinterest, compact capsules that rely on the odds for survival, unfollowed by the exact and modest number or goslings the S-necked goose is— who if she looks back acknowledges losses and if she does not also loses. |
