211003 Letter to Joyce #9

Dear Joyce,

You remember when we had both realized there was more work with the farm than we could keep up with anymore. 2 years before we sold the farm we had been talking regularly about what would happen when one or the other passed away and the one left would have to sell out quickly because one person could never keep up with all the daily work.

We also talked about if one of us had a serious health event like a severe stroke or heart attack that by the time an ambulance got there and took us to the hospital it could or would be too late to save us.

We made up our minds and put the farm on the market and it was sold. We moved to town. We were then just 10 minutes from the hospital and 8 minutes to our doctor’s office. That paid off in 2017 when you had your first aneurysm and subsequent surgery. You survived and while it took you a long time to recover all you could from that trauma, you did. We had 5 ½ good years of fun and laughter.

And then the next aneurysm hit. We were sitting in our home office having our morning coffee when you sneezed and said you had a terrible pain in your head. I immediately had a bad feeling about that. You asked me to help you to bed so you could lie down. Once you did so you became unresponsive. I called 911 and help arrived, but I knew deep down this was the end. You never regained consciousness. Your Neurosurgeon said there was no hope so I had to okay them removing the ventilator, and then Annie and I sat by your bed until the end.

We planned and were close to the hospital, but in the end it made no difference. Your fate was sealed in the first minute after the second aneurysm opened. As Robert Burns once wrote, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

I loved you and always will,

Bill