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by Kathleen French (Author)
Just a year and a half after the loss of my only grandparent, I had to face the reality of losing my dearest mother. Dorothy Kenney Busse was a strong woman who lived through the Depression, almost died during high school from a bout with scarlet fever, but survived and pursued a career as a registered nurse, fulfilling a promise she made to God for healing her. In the spring of 1988 as she began to decline in her health, it was then that the rubber band broke, and she lost her will to live. As the months unfolded, I decided to write a journal of our time together. The last year of her life, my mother was dying, and there was a combination of hoping for a cure and coming to terms with her eventual death. Through her dying, I turned to my faith as a way to cope with the emotional roller coaster of life and death. Although my children were very young, I was lucky to be a stay-at-home mom and lucky to have good friends and family who helped me in my hours of need. Throughout her final days, we explored many options of faith healing and prayer. Although she eventually succumbed to her illness, her journey helped me to strengthen my faith and to be there for her in her last moments of life, encouraging her to let go and embrace eternal life.
