I just received a phone call from my sister. Donesia has passed.
I had not called her this past week, not wanting to interrupt what might be important moments in the vigil of those who were spending their last moments with her, but I was planning on calling tomorrow to check on how things were progressing.
Sis said that this past week had just been amazing, that Donesia had some of the best days she'd had in a long time. She woke every morning with her order for breakfast, and visited as much as her energy would allow. They had a barbecue for her a few days ago, delayed since Mother's Day. Her son had made it up from Southern California, and everyone closest to her was there - her mom and sister and brother and John Michael, of course, and my sister and brother in law. She was cradled in the arms of love in all of her last moments.
This morning when she woke up, things did not shine so brightly. She was rather tired and disconnected, and she later asked John Michael to come into the room. She told him how much she loved him, told him she was not afraid, thanked him for all he had done for her over these years. It was only a short while before she more or less fell into a coma state. She had some small period of rough breathing, but even that did not last for long.
She left this life the same way she lived it - with grace, with peace, with joy, with love and with dignity. Of course, all of us who are left behind without her are in terrible pain, but at the same time we are also relieved to know that she will know no more pain of her own. We imagine that Sis's dog, Shannon, was there to play catch with the tennis ball when she got Home, and I like to think that my Missy was also there to give her some love & purrs.
In our hearts, Donesia will never leave us. She was such an angel in our midst. She was nothing but love. She left a piece of her heart in each of ours, and in that way she can never die - she will live on forever through the love she's sown in the fields of our lives. Though we will sorrow for our loss of her, in the years to come there will be nothing left but the sheer joy of having had the opportunity to know her and to love her, and she will never be more than a smile away in our dreams.
Godspeed, Donesia! You have more than earned your wings, and we have no doubt that you will be God's favorite, just like you were ours.
