Ann Pedler

Last Friday, we lost a family member. Elizabeth's step mother, Ann died Friday night. she had had a long fight with heart problems since childhood. Wednesday night she decided that she was tired and doctors made her aware that drugs were the only thing keeping her alive. she decided that she was ready to be taken off the meds. that was a hard step for everyone. the doctors also said that they couldn't tell us how long it was take before she would be gone. it was a whirlwind of emotions. for so long you are doing everything that you can to cure her, months before she was at Mayo clinic thinking that she will get a heart and kidney transplant and then the next thing you know the doctors decide not to. now at the end the family and Ann decided to shut off her pace maker to help her go away. it had been a long fight. in the hospitol for a couple weeks at a time and then out for a month or 2. this summer we had a lot of great things happen. we added 2 new grand kids on the same day and her son got married, so she got through the stuff that really mattered. this time we all thought that it might end a little different, but then again, everytime she seemed to pull off another miracle. my parents have been awsome and helped out so much with the girls and never say they can't do something. mom drove all the way back from Kendra's just so she could help out. well Friday night came and we were trying to stay home for one night to get the girls back on a schedule of living at home but E's dad called and said that we should probably come up. So about 8 ish we steped off the elevator and we passed E's dad. he was clearly upset and said that she had just taken a dose of meds and she was getting pretty calm so it would be a good time to get down there quick. Elizabeth and i got in there and she sounded horrible. every breathe was a gurgle filled gasp for air. that was hard for me. this was clearly the end coming soon. we both got on either side of her and i know i said a handful of prayers while holding her hand. the lights were dim and it was a very relaxing time for such a stressful occasion. minutes later Jeff and his wife came into the room, followed by Elizabeth's sister and husband a bit later. Ann's breathing was getting very slow and we were not sure if when Elizabeth's dad passed us he wanted to be there or not. we decided he might want to be there so i scurried down the hall and told him that i felt we were getting close to the end. He said that he wanted to go down there so we walked together. i had my arm around him the whole way. it felt like "the Green Mile" in my head. that was a hard thing to say and walk with. we got into the room and he sat right at her side and she took one last breathe. i was so glad that i was there. for being death, it was a very wonderful moment. we said some prayers. a couple other friends that were there came down and said good byes. it really was a wonderful time for such an awful loss. you always think that you want to go in your sleep, but i think that Ann came up with a better idea. Resting peacfully, with your family at your side, not watching you suffer and going on to a better place. i will be out of the office Thursday and Friday for the funeral and to be with family. Thanks for all the prayers.