As a child you dread the moment, yet as time evolves you realize more and more that the day will near, that you will lose your mom, the woman who gave birth to you.

Then, suddenly out of nowhere… something unforeseen crosses your path, first separating you from your loved ones for months, while you live in fear of the unknown, towards the day that social contact will be possible again…

“It is for the good of everyone, there are worse things in life, it is temporary”… all these words are spoken. Mom agreed completely that this lockdown was the best and safest thing to do for everyone, But, what does safe mean…when you are dealing with a ruthless sniper, that will grab the slightest possibility to squeeze through the best defenses if it gets a chance, in order to wreck as much as possible havoc.

The phone rings and mom informs us that she has had a light fever (101.5F/38.5C), while she never had to cope with that before. You imagine that it is only a little flu, there is no possibility that we would deal with that nasty virus, because mom is under a lockdown and in a very safe and a secure situation, is she?
Just to be sure and on the safe side, let’s do a quick test.. after all it is the new standard in our residential care centers.

Then reality kicks in… Questions and disbelief, how can it be COVID-19 while nobody was able to visit, we all kept strict to the rules, and… what is to come next?
Thank God, the doctor confirmed that her lungs are sounding ok!
Would it ‘just be a flu’ after all?
Mom has no other relevant conditions , and this virus only causes real life threats with people who do.

Fever turns into fatigue, fatigue becomes oxygen deprivation, all in a matter of hours, barely days. One day later, you are being admitted to hospital and you agree that it is probably better, since they have the equipment and staff to take good care.

But the beast is ruthless, and even a strong woman like yourself can’t do much against this virus, it is far too powerful, too intrusive, too devastating… and after a few days of fighting, you have noticeably become weaker. So weak that you need all the possible additional support you can get,  and that eventually you land in IC, put into a deep sleep that hopefully gives your body the strength to overcome this nasty virus.

Those last days feel like years, the hours like weeks and the minutes like hours… and we all live from update to update, while even the slightest positive word is taken as a potential for recovery and hope. But it is all to no prevail, this enemy is undefeatable.

We simply can’t grasp this, we don’t understand, and above all we can’t accept it. After just a week and a half, you have had to start your final battle, but luckily you did not need to consciously struggle in that fight, no longer in pain… We are so glad and thankful, for that las short moment in our physical presence, where your kids were able to tell you one last time ‘Good night… and sleep tight, mommy”… until the candle blew out gently, just 5 minutes after we departed from the hospital. As if you were waiting for your kids to be OK, like the fantastic mother you have always been for us, caring for your entire offspring.

We are so proud of you, every single one of your descendants, for whom you have had nothing but true love, about who you were constantly bragging, for whom you kept knitting almost until your last day, and where at each family gathering you requested to have a new picture with everyone in it. We are going to keep your memory alive and will not forget what you did for us.

Thank you mommy, we could not have wished for better parents, parents-in-law and (great-great-)grandparents… make sure to also let daddy know.

Your children, their partners , your grandchildren:

...and then, to know that this all started with the eternal love between 2 fantastic people, who fell in love and decided to get married on the same day...

... we will love and miss you forever!