A few weeks ago, someone very precious to me passed away. She was a doctor that I worked with at Kaiser Permanente'. Her name was Dr. Susan "Sue" Garrison. She was in incredible lady! Not only was she a kind, compassionate and highly competent physician, but she was so much more! The very first time I ever met her (at my interview for KP Georgia), I liked her! She was a straight to the point kind of gal; no beating around the bush! She was SMART as a whip, good at listening, and would give advice which was usually right on the mark! In my short time working with her, she became a friend, a mentor, and like a sister in many ways. She was diagnosed with Leukemia about 3.5 yrs ago. She fought a very hard battle; went into remission 2 times, but the disease persisted, and eventually took her away from us.
Sue is very big part of who & where I am today. While I was still her nurse, I decided venture down the career change path, and applied to be a part of the team that works with our electronic medical record. I put Sue down as a reference on my application. When the project director called her for a reference, her response was, "I only have 1 thing to say...HIRE HER." He did, soley on her say. There is no way she could have ever known how that changed my life, and the life of my family. It has made me very happy to be in this field, and the pay is better than it was as an LPN, which enabled my family and I to have a better lifestyle. I think I told her "thank you" for this. I pray I did.
This incredible lady taught me some invaluable lessons in life, and ultimately in death. She showed in her every day life that anything worth having was worth working for. She lived a life of deep integrity. She genuinely cared about her patients, her co-workers, friends and family. When Sue was in her late 30's, she became mom to an incredible little boy named Matthew. THIS was her ultimate joy in life!!! MATTHEW made Sue whole!! She SHONE throughout her pregnancy. She rejoiced at his birth. She cherished every moment of his life. Sue didn't want to leave him, but she had no choice. My heart breaks most for Matthew's loss, but I pray he will know that he was her greatest joy!!!
I went to Sue's funeral 3 wks ago today. Of course, it was quite emotional not only because of the obvious reasons, but it was compounded by the fact that she was only 45 years old; just 2 years older than me! Such a tragic loss of life so young! As I stood in the beautiful Catholic church, the service began. They rolled the casket from the back of the cathedral, and draped it with a beautiful white cloth, which I supposed represents purity. They said a prayer, then began processesing in. Matthew and his father, John, were walking right behind the casket which held the body of the woman they both loved more than life itself. John was holding Matthew's hand; being the strength for him during such a time of sorrow. Matthew was such a trooper!! He didn't cry or fall apart at all. He was quite the little gentleman. Seeing him there, walking behind his mother's casket, did something to me deep inside. I thought about how much Sue wanted him before he was born. I thought about how much she cherished him every moment of every day since he was born. And my heart was broken in two!!! No child should ever have to bury his mother. Especially at such a tender age!!
If there is any good in this tragic story, it is the fact that John, Sue and Matthew lived life to the FULLEST. They spent lots of time together traveling, exploring, and doing things as a family. They loved to read, and read to Matthew avidly. They made LOTS of memories with young Matthew!!!
This got me to thinking. Am I making memories with my children??? I have been blessed with 4 wonderful children, and 1 grandchild (with another one on the way!). Two of my children are now grown, one is 15 and the youngest is almost 10. What am I doing to make their lives and time spent with me memorable? If I died today, would they be able to sit around with one another in a few years, talking and laughing about good times with Mom? I'm afraid not enough. Yes, I know there's some...but not enough!!!!
So...my "Sue" resolution is to MAKE MEMORIES!!!! Sue touched my life in so many, many ways. Now, I need to follow her example and make my children the NUMBER ONE priority. I'm working on it! We recently bought a new camper so we can spend more family time together. Ruby is home from school today because of an ear infection, but is feeling better, so she and I got out and worked in the yard. We had a wonderful time! I want to spend more time with Russell, Trista, & Stephen as well. I pray God allows me time to spend with them, doing things we enjoy and will make great memories with.
I'm gonna log off of here now, and go figure out something else to do with Ruby. Making memories...here we come!!!!
