Remembering December 2nd

December 2, 2008 was the date our lives were forever changed.  Around five in the evening, I headed out to the photo store, which was right next to my parents apartment in White Rock.  I called on the way to talk to mom, but it went to voice mail.  I passed their place on the way home, looked up to see the lights on, called again and it went to voicemail.  I came home to my place, five minutes away, was entering the code on my security system when my cell phone rang.  I answered to call to a fireman who told me my mother had had a heart attack.  I stood at my door entrance in disbelief.  I quickly threw my groceries in the fridge, turned around  and headed back to their apartment.

Dad was waiting for me in the hallway when I got there.  He was shaking and I hugged him.  We went inside, and he pointed out to the balcony where she had had the heart attack.  She had gone outside to clean up the winter debris off the balcony.  I picked up her coat, glasses, and righted the pots that had fallen over.

Back inside, I said to dad that we'd better get up to the hospital to see mom, I was assuming she had a heart attack, and would be waiting for us in the emergency section of the hospital.  That's when dad informed me that she had passed away.  I was in denial, and still thought she'd be waiting for us in emergency.  Maybe that's what I needed to believe in order for us to drive to the hospital.

Upon arrival, I was looking into the emergency room for mom.  We told the nurses at the desk what we were there for... and when we were shuffled into a little room... that's when I knew that what dad had told me was true.  Mom had passed away.

In hindsight, we saw the heart attack warnings: nausea, fatigue, shoulder pain, headache... all the symptoms that could be attributed to a bad headache, which mom sometimes suffered with.  Nothing could change the fact that the cornerstone of our family had been yanked from us.  She left behind an ill husband, and three children in their late 20s and early 30s... two nearby and one faraway.