My Moms Journey Home

A guest story by Renay Silva

My mother passed away on April 21, 2020. As I think of the months, weeks, days prior to her leaving this earth I realize how much Heavenly Father loved her. There were so many mercies during my mom’s journey home.

My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October 2018. She had been having some abdomen pain and was losing weight. She decided to try chemotherapy. After a few tries her pain was gone but she decided she did not like the way she felt, so she quit and left it up to the Lord. She regained some energy.

One thing mom was afraid of was having pain. We heard pancreatic cancer was one of the most painful battles. Whenever anyone asked what they could do for us, we asked them to pray that she would not have pain. For the almost six months of her battle, she had no pain. She did not need anything, not even over the counter medication. Tender mercy!

My mom walked at least three miles every day for 30 years. Rain, snow, sunshine, nor vacation stopped her. If I was on vacation with her, she would wake me up at 5:00 AM to walk with her. Since I am not a morning person sometimes, she would let me sleep until 6:00 AM. If it was raining, we took umbrellas. If it was snowing, we bundled up…nothing stopped her. There were times I would ask her to slow down so I could keep up with her.

One time we came home from a trip and we were walking through the airport I shouted out to her, “Mom, please act your age and slow down”. She was 80 and I could not keep up with her. Granted I was carrying her luggage along with mine.

She prayed every day that she would be able to walk one more day. Mom was able to walk until about three weeks prior to her death. Sometimes it was with a walker and only up and down her street. Sometimes it was one of us children and a cane or with two of us, one holding her on each side. The last couple of weeks we had to put her in a wheelchair and push her up and down the street. The last few days she would ask us to walk her around the house. We would push her in the wheelchair inside her home then put her on her bed and move her legs like she was walking. We did this until the day before she left us.  Heavenly Father made sure she had the strength to move, as she had prayed for.

Most of mom’s life she read scriptures every day. She prayed constantly and loved Christian music. Once she could no longer read, she had one of us read to her. My 20-year-old grandson loved his Nana. They were always very close to each other. He would visit her often especially once she got sick. He is currently not a religious guy but one evening he was visiting, sitting next to her, he asked, “Nana, do you want me to read scriptures to you?”. He picked up her bible and turned to Psalms 23 and began reading. She was so touched, her eyes filled with tears. They used to read that scripture when he was little, and he remembered. 

When my younger brother, Carlos, was little he always took care of mom. When they were camping, he would hold her hand to make sure she would not trip. He was always a good son, as my other brothers were too, but Carlos was and is more sensitive. My dad would tell my mom, “Mark my words, Carlos will always take care of you.”

Well it was Carlos and his wife’s turn to take care of mom the night before she died. She took a turn for the worse, so he called us. My sister and I went back to mom’s. At one point she woke up, looked at Carlos with love in her eyes, reached out and grabbed his hand with both of hers and held on tight. She would not let go. I finally got a chair for him to sit on. My dad was right, her Carlos held her hand until the end.

The hospice Chaplin, Greg, was not able to visit mom in person any longer due to the corona virus quarantine. But on her last day with us he called and asked if he could come see her because the nurse told him she was getting ready to leave us. We told him, “Of course he could visit her.” 

She was having difficulty breathing and having lots of anxiety. When he arrived, he asked her if he could recite scriptures to her, she calmed down and began breathing normal as he recited scriptures and spoke of the place that was prepared for her on the other side and those waiting for her, including Jesus himself. She was very peaceful as she listened to him. He sang a beautiful song about returning home and being with her loved ones that have gone before. He then said a prayer telling her that her family here were at peace and ready to let her go to be with her loved ones on the other side. We all said, Amen.

He stood up to leave and before he got to the door, she breathed her last breath. It was so peaceful. I believe Greg was an earthly angel sent to us by God. I am so grateful for Heavenly Father’s tender mercies.

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