An update

Mike and I have arrived at my parents' house. We're scheduled to meet with the funeral director tomorrow to make arrangements. I'll keep you updated as well as I can.

Thanks to everyone who is sending well wishes and prayers our way. I'm not ashamed to tell you that we need them right now. We're holding it together as best as we can here but everywhere around are things to remind us what we have lost.

Originally we had thought that Mom was at home when she started having trouble and drove herself to the hospital. She drove to the hospital, parked her car, locked it and went into the emergency room. Once in the lobby, she lost consciousness and collapsed. The staff were unable to revive her. She never regained consciousness and died shortly thereafter. The staff tried to call my dad, who was at work, and were unable to reach him. They then called my mom's brother, my uncle Mike. He drove into Mt. Pleasant and had them get my dad. Uncle Mike told him that my mom was gone.

It turned out that she never made it home after work. My mom worked her shift at the hospital and started to come home. When she started having trouble, she turned back around and drove back to the hospital. This answered any lingering questions about why she'd driven herself to the hospital instead of calling an ambulance. We figured this out when my dad and my uncle drove down to the hospital to pick up her car. She always had something to eat waiting for my dad when he got home from work. When my dad got into her car to drive it home, there was a styrofoam container on the passenger seat. He opened it and found food that she was bringing home for him. If she'd made it home, she'd have taken the food inside.

Funeral arrangements will be made through Elliot Chapel in New London, Iowa. We're thinking a weekend service so that her co-workers will have the option to attend but nothing is set yet. I'll post more when we solidify arrangements.

If you're a church goer, light a candle for my mom. We miss her.