It was January 15th. Reid had been in the hospital for over a week with pneumonia. I was getting ready to go see him when I got a call from the hospital telling me that Reid was dying and I needed to get over there right away. I called my niece Bernadette and she and her husband Kevin came rushing over. The nurse said he was unresponsive. I bent over him and he opened his eyes and saw me. I told him I was here and would stay with him. He was on the Cpap machine but tried to say something to me. I told him it was alright. He did know I was there.
Reid closed his eyes and slipped into unconsciousness. I sat next to him and took his hand. My niece for a while held his other hand. Kevin is a Presbyterian minister and he said the prayers for the dead over Reid. We all knew Reid was never coming back.
As morning slipped into afternoon Kevin went and got us sandwiches from the cafeteria in the hospital basement. I tried to eat but all I could manage was a couple of bites. I put the sandwich aside for later and went back to holding Reid’s hand.
Late afternoon I made the hardest decision of my life and told them to take Reid off of the Cpap machine. It was artificially keeping him alive. At one point in the afternoon when I was alone with Reid I reached over and caressed his face. I told him, “Sweetheart if you have to go I understand. It is alright. You can go.”
Kevin had to go back home since they have a special needs child. Bernadette stayed with me. She had called her oldest son Tristan. He and I have a very special relationship. He stayed on the line with us. At 8:00PM Reid passed away. All the bells went off and the nurse came in and certified that he was gone.
Reid looked so peaceful. I was shattered. The little brother that I have taken care of since I was 7 years old was gone from me.
I hope and pray that I never have to make the decision to take a loved one off of life support again. I hurts too much.