I am sorry to bring this up one more time to you all but the query for this Chapter overwhelms me with beautiful, grace-filled memories and endless gratitude.
When my husband was dying, we were sustained by community. Early on, I learned to ask for angels and they came again and again. They came to walk with us literally in an enormous show of support at the ALS Walk. They walked with Fred for miles in his daily determination to keep moving. They walked with me through my grief, allowing me to voice my deepest fears and sob, bearing witness to my aching heart. They prayed for us, day after day, week after week. They fed us and helped us with household chores. They moved furniture, built railings, cut wood, and raked leaves. They held my unsteady hands while I learned to do things I had never done before. They helped me think through the complex issues of Fred’s care. They came with us to the endless medical appointments. They drove us when I was too distracted to drive well. They moved our daughter home from college. They reached out to us with cards and emails and phone calls. They loved us. They celebrated Fred, our family, our marriage and their friendships. They slept at the house on the hardest nights. They came at a moment’s notice. They helped Fred die surrounded by love.
This is just a list. Behind every sentence there are long stories I will never finish telling as I will never finish saying thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
—Peg Edera