My very good friend Connie and I shared a house here in Lewes for 11 years. As my aunt would always say “Sussex County is God’s country.” Living here is certainly a wonderful quality of life!
On Wednesday, June 17, Connie and I went with the Cape Henlopen Senior Center to The Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster to see their production of “Joseph.” We had a wonderful time and it was a very memorable trip for both of us.
Very early the morning of Thursday, July 18, Connie suffered a major stroke and was taken by ambulance to Beebe Healthcare where the ER doctor informed me that they are not able to handle that type of stroke, and Connie was transported to the Neuro Stroke unit at Christiana Hospital.
Upon arrival at Christiana, she was examined by the doctor who was head of the stroke center and Connie had very little response. The doctor informed me that Connie had major bleeding in the brain at the base of the brain stem which determines all of life’s functions. The prognosis was very poor.
That evening I located the advance directive which she prepared a few years ago. Friday morning I headed back to Christiana Hospital to be with Connie who was now in a coma state with no response. Based on her wishes written in the advance directive, Connie did not want to be attached to any feeding tube, breathing tubes, etc. It was decided that Connie be taken to the Seasons Hospice floor at Christiana Hospital where the staff is caring and respect life.
Saturday morning I headed back to Christiana to be with Connie and her nephew’s family. At noon on Saturday, her breathing tube was removed and we all told her that we loved her and hoped that she heard us. I continued to talk to her and tell her all the wonderful times we had.
When I left for home at 4:30 p.m., Connie was still breathing. It had been an extremely emotional day. When the valet person went to get my car, he said that I had a flat tire. I called AAA who arrived and changed the tire to the donut tire which I knew that I would not be able to ride back to Lewes on. At this point it was 5:30 p.m., and I asked the person to give me directions to a tire store which was 15 minutes away. He mentioned that it was Saturday evening and many stores closed early.
All I could think of was that if the store was closed I would have to spend the night in the lobby of Christiana Hospital. I followed his directions, but could not find the tire store and I kept riding and riding. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a Pep Boys.
At that point, the tears ran down my face and I began to cry as I entered the service center. I told the service manager that I had spent the day with my very good friend who was in hospice at Christiana and could he help me. He told me not to worry that he would have me up and heading back to Lewes in 20 minutes. He was true to his word. When I went to pay the bill, I noticed the name tag on his shirt, it read ANGEL! I thanked him and told him that he was my Guardian Angel.
Connie believed in angels and had an extensive angel collection in her curio cabinet. I feel that she sent me Angel Serrano, manager of Pep Boys in Newark, to help and look after me.
When I returned home to Lewes, there was a message from the Hospice nurse to phone her. Connie had passed away at 6:25 p.m., the same time that I was leaving Pep Boys in Newark. On my way home, I also saw a rainbow which the hospice nurse also said was a sign.
I will miss my very good friend Connie terribly but she will always remain in my heart!
Loretta Lankford
Lewes
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
