My Aunt Inez is dying of ovarian cancer. She has refused all treatment, and is living out her last days in her long-time home in Oregon. I took my Mom, her sister, to visit her one last time.
I recently took my Mom to visit her sister Inez at her home in Oregon. My Mom is senile and doesn't particularly understand that Inez is dying of ovarian cancer. Inez has decided to wait out her days at home rather than continue any medical treatment. She is all alone--her younger son is a meth addict and sees her occasionally, but isn't fit to help her out. She hasn't spoken or seen her oldest son in many years. I wanted to bring the family together to rally around my aunt at the end of her life. I was shocked when I entered her home--the once sparkling clean, happy place I used to visit as a child has been reduced to a pile of unpaid medical bills, clothes piled on the bed and ants crawling on the kitchen counters.
I arranged a lunch with my aunt and her estranged son, which was awkward and sad, especially when she turned to him and said, "I was a good mother, wasn't I?" On her mantel, my aunt preserves the memories of her two sons with photographs of them taken when they still allowed her to love them. When I got back home, I realized Inez has the same expression on her face as a portrait I found in her home of her grandmother...