It was just an average Thursday on March 20th. My mom woke up, she video chatted with my sister who is in Tennessee, ran her errands, and came home. That afternoon, she walked around our park and spent some time with her grandbabies. At 5:37 pm, my mom called me, and we talked for 3 minutes and 21 seconds before saying goodbye. Only I didn’t know this was going to be the last time. Fifteen minutes later, I received another phone call from my mom. Only, it was not my momma. It was my sister calling for me to rush over to help; I live across the street from them. As soon as I walked in, my mom was not conscious, her lips were blue, and she was struggling to breathe. I called paramedics immediately. She was rushed to UF Emergency, where she was placed on a ventilator and sedated. My mom was transported to UF Downtown in the ICU later that night. On Friday morning, some tests were done; the scans showed two clots on her brain, one on each side, on both main arteries. I received a phone call about 9 am; a neurosurgeon wanted to know if he had the okay to go ahead with surgery. The clots were removed successfully; unfortunately, due to the massive stroke, her entire frontal lobe was destroyed. Later this evening, she was officially eligible to have the brain death test. My siblings and I decided to have the test done. At 2:48 pm, she was officially declared brain dead. We decided to have the ventilator removed Sunday night.

This loss was extremely sudden, without warning. My family is reaching out to ask for help in raising enough money to give the memorial my mom deserves. Her name was Denise, and she had the warmest heart I have ever known. All my mom ever wanted was peace in the world; she always felt that the world was too big to change at once, but she could start at home. So, she did. I am the mother I am today because of her. I was only eighteen when I made her a grandma for the first time, so I always looked to her for guidance. Fast forward 11 years, she now has 11 grandchildren and a 12th on the way! Her grandbabies were her life; I always enjoyed how big her smile got when any of them walked in. That beautiful smile. She always had an aura about her; the air felt lighter when she was close. She was quick to give her opinion, but never with judgment. She was always a fixer; no matter how big or small the problem, she gave everything she could to fix it, often without being asked to. She continued that legacy in death by giving herself to others. I just want to give my mom the heroic goodbye she rightfully deserves.

Sincerely,

Her Oldest

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