It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing away of our dear mother and wife during Tuesday night.  The last couple of days mom had been extremely restless.  She also was breathing very deeply, even with her oxygen tank on higher settings.  Clarinda was able to get the last response out of her on Monday when she asked if she was in pain.  She shook her head no.  She did have some moaning a couple weeks ago, but we believe that was due to some pain in her digestive system; this had been taken care of and did not seem to be bothering her.   On Tuesday, even after giving mom some calming medicine for her agitation, she didn't settle down.   Feeding was a struggle, we were able to get about 10 bites of cereal in in the morning and afternoon, plus some syringe fulls of liquid.  At dinner time it was also not going well, we didn't get much of a response at all, even with gently shaking and patting mom. We were only able to give some of the regular medicine, but could see that there was problem with swallowing, so we did not dare leave any liquid in her mouth.  Our father checked on her periodically during the night, and saw her still moving and breathing heavily, and around 6 in the morning there was no more breathing.

These last weeks, there have been many ups and downs with caring for mom.  At some mealtimes, we were not able to get more than a couple bites in, or nothing at all.  She had been more responsive for awhile and able to nod yes or no to any food or pain questions.  She had also been quite restless overall in the last week; eyes open during the night, much moving.  Her cold that she struggled with last week actually had cleared up quite well; no coughing, no colored phelgm.

We do not think she was in any pain, and have been told by many people, including the nurse, that restlessness is a very common side effect of brain injuries/cancer.   We had also been told that forgotting how to swallow might happen, so it was not a surprise.  We were very worried that we might have to watch her suffer from hunger and thirst, so it was a great blessing to be spared from seeing that. 

We will be adding another post later regarding some things we experienced in her passing, but we want to post the funeral details-

VanStrein Heritage Funeral Home on Plainfield:
1833 Plainfield Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505

Visitation -Monday, October 1  from 2-4 and 7-9

Funeral -10AM on Tuesday, October 2 at the Beckwith First Netherlands Reformed Church (Some of the funeral times posted in the Grand Rapids press and online at Mlive are incorrect)
1261 Beckwith Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505

If anybody is not able to make it and wants to listen to the service, they are able to call into the church line at 616-215-0522