It is with deep sadness that I share the passing of my sweet stepmom, Susan Lee Gaskill, age 79. She is known to us as Grandma Sue, Mom and Sue. She became my stepmom when I was just five years old, so I have very few memories without her in my life. We are devastated by this loss. She is known for her kindness, her catholic faith, her love of her family, her unifying nature, her love of golf, her love of card games, her homemade noodles, her hot fudge, her cherry bars, and her sugar cookies. I can't imagine life without her.
This is how she passed, in my dad's arms. She went into the hospital on April 20th and never came out. Three days ago, she decided she was done fighting. She was tired of the pain. The pain was intense and it only worsened over the seven weeks. In addition, she developed a bed sore, so sitting was unbearable. She tried chemotherapy. She tried dialysis. She tried a feeding tube. She fought hard, but in the end her body did not respond as we hoped and prayed it would. She stopped all treatment three days ago and went into palliative care of the 6th floor of the hospital. She didn't want to go home. She just wanted to pass away peacefully.
She was able to say goodbye to all her kids. Our family was six days into our trip to Italy when she passed. We were in Florence when we got the news. I was able to talk to her on the phone before she stopped talking. I had the kids each write a note to Grandma Sue before she passed. Their notes were read to her and she thanked them. I asked Debi if she would have her listen to the songs "Even If" and "I Can Only Imagine" before she passed. She loved us all so well. Once everyone but my dad cleared the hospital room and he climbed into bed with her for the night, she passed away peacefully in his arms around 9 pm.
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