| General Fiction posted February 2, 2022 | Chapters: |
2 3 -4- 5 
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Living with the hope of seeing her again
A chapter in the book Remembering loved ones
A profound loss
by Joanne Gill-Maddick
On sept 7, 2019 we got a call that changed the course of our lives forever. My beautiful niece at 37 years of age suddenly passed away. Our whole family was in shock. My brother was in the process of starting to build a new house and was spreading gravel at the time. He just received the horrifying news his only daughter was gone. His whole world just fell apart. He was going to cancel building the house and thought of selling his land again.
After several months he started working on his house again and it became his saviour. He put all his energy into his house . He and his wife spent every waking moment possible working there. It was the only thing that kept them sane and was a distraction they both needed. They finished the house and moved in on November of this year. They put up a Christmas tree for the first time since Trudy-Lynn passed.
Trudy-Lynn struggled for years with mental illness and depression but was finally in a good place and was looking forward to tomorrow. She was an occupational therapist with Eastern health. She loved her job and excelled in it. The night before she passed away she was out for supper and social drinks with her friends and went home at 10:30.
Trudy-Lynn lived in the basement of her grandparents house. She had a cozy little spot. She lived alone and was never married. At 8 a.m the next morning her grandfather went to check on her and found her dead on the kitchen floor. She was her grandfather's pride and joy.
The first link in the family chain was broken. Things would never be the same again. Trudy-Lynn was a bubbling presence and was front and centre for a lot of events. She was full of fun and we all loved her so much. She had one younger brother Terry who was born with serious heart defects. He had been sick most of his life. Terry is 32 years old and has had three heart transplants;there was times we didn't think he was going to survive. However; he is doing well and married with a family of his own.
There's always a chance of rejection in heart transplant patients. My brother was forever afraid that he would receive a phone call at any time of the day or night that something terrible had happened to Terry. He never thought he would be getting that call about Trudy. Now Trudy is gone and Terry is still here. He beat the odds.
Trudy-Lynn was very excited about the new baby that was coming into the family. Terry's wife was having a baby girl she already had a little boy named Sebastian. He was the centre of Aunties world. Trudy-Lynn had picked up suits for the new baby before she passed. They called the baby Mae-Lynn after her Aunt Trudy-Lynn. When Mae-Lynn was born. As her mom was getting ready to leave the hospital she approached the nurse's station to make sure everything was in place for her to leave, she saw a dime on the outside part of the desk where she was standing. I don't know if you're familiar with coins and the significance of finding dimes. Apparently it's a sign from the other side letting loved ones know they are ok. It brings comfort at a time when you really need it. Terry and his wife knew that Trudy-Lynn was letting them know she was with them and it was ok to leave. I got cold shivers when my brother told me this story.
My brother and his wife are still struggling with the loss. It still seems surreal to all of us. After two years we go to the graveyard and reality hits us in the face when we see her headstone. I've experienced a lot of loss in my lifetime but never a loss such as this. It's hard to comprehend. I know everyone's grief journey is different. The hurt is still so profound. The only thing that gets me through is believing that some day we will all be reunited again. I pray for my brother and his wife and that God will continue to grant them the strength to carry on.
Non-Fiction Writing Contest contest entry
On sept 7, 2019 we got a call that changed the course of our lives forever. My beautiful niece at 37 years of age suddenly passed away. Our whole family was in shock. My brother was in the process of starting to build a new house and was spreading gravel at the time. He just received the horrifying news his only daughter was gone. His whole world just fell apart. He was going to cancel building the house and thought of selling his land again.
After several months he started working on his house again and it became his saviour. He put all his energy into his house . He and his wife spent every waking moment possible working there. It was the only thing that kept them sane and was a distraction they both needed. They finished the house and moved in on November of this year. They put up a Christmas tree for the first time since Trudy-Lynn passed.
Trudy-Lynn struggled for years with mental illness and depression but was finally in a good place and was looking forward to tomorrow. She was an occupational therapist with Eastern health. She loved her job and excelled in it. The night before she passed away she was out for supper and social drinks with her friends and went home at 10:30.
Trudy-Lynn lived in the basement of her grandparents house. She had a cozy little spot. She lived alone and was never married. At 8 a.m the next morning her grandfather went to check on her and found her dead on the kitchen floor. She was her grandfather's pride and joy.
The first link in the family chain was broken. Things would never be the same again. Trudy-Lynn was a bubbling presence and was front and centre for a lot of events. She was full of fun and we all loved her so much. She had one younger brother Terry who was born with serious heart defects. He had been sick most of his life. Terry is 32 years old and has had three heart transplants;there was times we didn't think he was going to survive. However; he is doing well and married with a family of his own.
There's always a chance of rejection in heart transplant patients. My brother was forever afraid that he would receive a phone call at any time of the day or night that something terrible had happened to Terry. He never thought he would be getting that call about Trudy. Now Trudy is gone and Terry is still here. He beat the odds.
Trudy-Lynn was very excited about the new baby that was coming into the family. Terry's wife was having a baby girl she already had a little boy named Sebastian. He was the centre of Aunties world. Trudy-Lynn had picked up suits for the new baby before she passed. They called the baby Mae-Lynn after her Aunt Trudy-Lynn. When Mae-Lynn was born. As her mom was getting ready to leave the hospital she approached the nurse's station to make sure everything was in place for her to leave, she saw a dime on the outside part of the desk where she was standing. I don't know if you're familiar with coins and the significance of finding dimes. Apparently it's a sign from the other side letting loved ones know they are ok. It brings comfort at a time when you really need it. Terry and his wife knew that Trudy-Lynn was letting them know she was with them and it was ok to leave. I got cold shivers when my brother told me this story.
My brother and his wife are still struggling with the loss. It still seems surreal to all of us. After two years we go to the graveyard and reality hits us in the face when we see her headstone. I've experienced a lot of loss in my lifetime but never a loss such as this. It's hard to comprehend. I know everyone's grief journey is different. The hurt is still so profound. The only thing that gets me through is believing that some day we will all be reunited again. I pray for my brother and his wife and that God will continue to grant them the strength to carry on.
After several months he started working on his house again and it became his saviour. He put all his energy into his house . He and his wife spent every waking moment possible working there. It was the only thing that kept them sane and was a distraction they both needed. They finished the house and moved in on November of this year. They put up a Christmas tree for the first time since Trudy-Lynn passed.
Trudy-Lynn struggled for years with mental illness and depression but was finally in a good place and was looking forward to tomorrow. She was an occupational therapist with Eastern health. She loved her job and excelled in it. The night before she passed away she was out for supper and social drinks with her friends and went home at 10:30.
Trudy-Lynn lived in the basement of her grandparents house. She had a cozy little spot. She lived alone and was never married. At 8 a.m the next morning her grandfather went to check on her and found her dead on the kitchen floor. She was her grandfather's pride and joy.
The first link in the family chain was broken. Things would never be the same again. Trudy-Lynn was a bubbling presence and was front and centre for a lot of events. She was full of fun and we all loved her so much. She had one younger brother Terry who was born with serious heart defects. He had been sick most of his life. Terry is 32 years old and has had three heart transplants;there was times we didn't think he was going to survive. However; he is doing well and married with a family of his own.
There's always a chance of rejection in heart transplant patients. My brother was forever afraid that he would receive a phone call at any time of the day or night that something terrible had happened to Terry. He never thought he would be getting that call about Trudy. Now Trudy is gone and Terry is still here. He beat the odds.
Trudy-Lynn was very excited about the new baby that was coming into the family. Terry's wife was having a baby girl she already had a little boy named Sebastian. He was the centre of Aunties world. Trudy-Lynn had picked up suits for the new baby before she passed. They called the baby Mae-Lynn after her Aunt Trudy-Lynn. When Mae-Lynn was born. As her mom was getting ready to leave the hospital she approached the nurse's station to make sure everything was in place for her to leave, she saw a dime on the outside part of the desk where she was standing. I don't know if you're familiar with coins and the significance of finding dimes. Apparently it's a sign from the other side letting loved ones know they are ok. It brings comfort at a time when you really need it. Terry and his wife knew that Trudy-Lynn was letting them know she was with them and it was ok to leave. I got cold shivers when my brother told me this story.
My brother and his wife are still struggling with the loss. It still seems surreal to all of us. After two years we go to the graveyard and reality hits us in the face when we see her headstone. I've experienced a lot of loss in my lifetime but never a loss such as this. It's hard to comprehend. I know everyone's grief journey is different. The hurt is still so profound. The only thing that gets me through is believing that some day we will all be reunited again. I pray for my brother and his wife and that God will continue to grant them the strength to carry on.
A picture of my brother and his family when Terry got married 4 years ago. A beautiful family. We never did find out the cause of her untimely death.
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