last day

mom died yesterday, december 25, 2010, around 9:25AM. 

she had a breathing emergency at 6:30 AM the day before, Friday, Christmas Eve, and we started hospice care then.  we left her at 6PM in the evening, she was exhausted and sleeping heavily without need of morphine or atavan or anything.  jane and i attended midnight mass and crawled into bed 2AM Christmas day.  later in the morning after some coffee i drove the 4 miles to be with her and when i walked in paul and peter, the two care-givers, were just dialing for help.  mom was agitated and crying out in pain.  i knelt by the bed and took her hands, her eyes focused on my face and she seemed to know it was me.  i soothed her and told her we are going to take care of the pain.  i pulled a cc of morphine and squirted it into her mouth just as she started to gasp and convulse.  she was staring up at the ceiling, eyes unfocused, as if she was seeing right through it. i held her hand, stroked her face and hair and told her over and over that it's okay, it's all good, just let go, it's okay to go.  a few last gasps and a shudder.  no pulse. no breath, all still. 

peter placed a hand on my shoulder as i knelt by the bed holding mom, weaping. 



this was all so fast.  after a long slow ten year cognitive decline and a slow two years of middle stage dementia, she thumped into her end days late this summer.  a lot of falls, increasing confusion.  this was not alzheimers, she always knew who she was and she knew and fretted over her loss of memory.  the last 6 weeks were a nightmare for her...fear, anxiety, agitation, exhaustion.  things kept shifting and it was hard to stay on top of what she needed...all the way up to the last where we thought she had more time.  she fooled us. she slept through the night in no pain and it wasn't until her last moments that she felt a lot of discomfort. her end came blessedly fast. 
 

2008

december 7 2008, prospect park, seattle, washington

2005

aug 29 2005, with nick and paige, mariposa, california

2000

with sons, fresno california

1985

thanksgiving 1985, palo alto street home, fresno california.

lynn and wjh's last photo together, he died about 6 weeks after it was taken

1979

with morgan blythe hutcheson, pinecrest lake, california

1977

with john owen hutcheson

1969

june, chris and michelle's wedding, fresno california

1963

hutch's supper club, nimitz highway, honolulu hawaii. from the left: lynn, chris, wjh, robin, dotty and art todd, and then the 4 members of the hunt family.  (check out art and dotty todd on wikipaedia.)

1961

new years eve kiss, honolulu hawaii

1957

the philippine islands

wjh was stationed here as a master sergeant in the usaf 
we lived at castle air force base for 19 months

boats

  coffee

dressing up

1953

lynn, wjh and second born under the dress in utero, atwater california

1951

lynn and chris lived in carmel with her sister
while wjh was stationed in guam during the korean war

1947

with first born, fedora avenue home, fresno california

1946

kodacolor print of postwar car trip across the south to meet WJH's family, with stops in texas, alabama and florida panhandle

1944

may 20 1944, chinese village cafe, 745 n. main st, los angeles california, whj and lynn with mike & kim lund.  wjh & lynn met mike & kim on film set of national velvet in pebble beach.

1944

january 28 1944, saint john's chapel, monterrey california

1942

lynn in back row left, fort ord dental clinic

1938

a sunday in 1938 1st baptist church ashville north carolina where she sang in the choir...about 17 years old

1925

 

lynn with brothers cliff and bill circa1925 somewhere around either pendleton south carolina or asheville north carolina

1918

lynn's parents...hollie welborn and cliff owen...."the night cliff left for france world war I 12:30 at night."