A young single mom nurses her sick grandmother devotedly, but when she passes away, all she gets is an old couch.
For Deborah Marks, giving her terminally ill grandmother all the help and support she could was not a duty, it was a pleasure. Her grandmother, Tessa, had been there for her throughout her childhood, in a way her cold-hearted, aloof mother never had.
Now that Tessa was in the final stages of her life, Deborah wanted to be there for her, despite the many difficulties her life as a single mother of two entailed. Her mother, Martha, was as indifferent a daughter as she had been a mother, so the comfort of Tessa’s last days lay in Deborah’s hands.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
So when Tessa begged to be allowed to die at home, it was Deborah who asked for six months of unpaid leave from her job and moved into her grandmother’s house with her two children.
Meanwhile, Martha had booked herself a three-month world cruise and saw no reason to cancel it. Over the next four months, Deborah nursed Tessa tenderly, caring for her as if she were one of her babies.
As our grandparents and parents are there for us in our first moments, we should also be there for them in their last days.
When Tessa’s pain lessened, she and Deborah would spend quiet hours talking, and the older woman would reminisce about her life. Deborah would hold her thin gnarled hands and kiss them.
“I want you to know how much I love you, granny,” she whispered every day. “You’ll always be in my heart.” Tessa’s eyes would close slowly under the effect of the pain medication and she’d fall asleep smiling.
One evening, the sleep didn’t end. Tessa’s last sight, her last sweet smile, was for Deborah. She sank into endless sleep with her granddaughter’s hand pressed to her cheek.
