As I Remember Mama - Denied The Right To Die With Dignity or Legally Crucified ??
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This book is dedicated to my Mother, Nellie Lorraine (Molash) Williamson, who lived a very rough life. As a child she was separated from her parents and sent to an Indian Boarding School. As a teen she went out into the world to find a husband. As a married woman she had to deal with a drinking husband and three small children. When her marriage ended she had to "struggle" with the challenges of raising a child alone. She became an alcoholic and had to overcome the addiction. As a senior citizen she was tragically burned by scalding water. She lived a very hard life but she overcame all the negative obstacles in her life. She deserved the "Right To Die With Dignity." Although she suffered with heart problems and diverticulosis for years, she adamantly refused any type of surgery. She was afraid of the doctors in Rapid City, South Dakota. The heart doctors were "encouraging" her to have heart surgery but she somehow knew she would not survive any type of surgery. Her biggest fear was to be operated on and kept alive on machines. She entered the Emergency Room on February 11, 2003, via ambulance, complaining of nausea and vomiting. She was admitted and heart surgery was performed on February 12, 2003, without written consent. Our family was informed she had consented to and was going into surgery. She died during surgery, was resuscitated and kept alive on machines for twelve days. Today, I still feel the torment and hell she suffered the last two weeks of her life. Her worst fear had come true. Newspapers will not publish her story because there is no law suit filed. I could not find an attorney to represent her case because "she was not kept alive long enough" and/or it would be too expensive to pursue. Does this mean my Mother was Legally Crucified?
This is HER story. I am sharing HER story to bring attention of the importance of a legal Living Will and a Durable Power of Attorney. It is my hope that your loved one is not denied the "Right To Die With Dignity."
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About the Book
I believe we all have a purpose in life. I believe my purpose is to share my life experiences and memories so others may benefit from my experiences and memories. The mind is capable of storing information and memories. Each person has a unique method of storing information and remembering details. I often wonder, do our feelings and emotions dictate and control our memories or do our memories dictate and control our feelings and emotions? Research proves that emotions create 80% of our memories. On occasion, I have heard someone say, “That’s a lie; that’s not at all how I remember it.” I feel people don’t intentionally lie, they only tell it different; as their individual emotions create “their” memory of each event. My writings are of my memories as I remember them. These are the lessons I learned through my feelings, emotions, and the memories that linger, of days and events gone by. Each day is a new opportunity for experiencing, learning, feeling, and remembering. I consider myself to be an active, happy, go-lucky person, with a great sense of humor. I am full of compassion and a very giving person. I grew up with nothing so enjoy sharing what I have with others. All I want in life is to make others happy, put a smile on their face, and advocate for “The Right To Die With Dignity.” Sometimes I am blunt and to the point. I have stood my ground for the sake of others and have often put my two cents in just for the cause; cause I think it needs to be said. I give thanks to my Grandmother, Pearl Williamson, who took me in, comforted me, and gave me love when I didn’t think anyone loved me. She was an inspiration in my life; she taught me my values, morals, patience, forgiveness, understanding, and acceptance.
About the Author
I have had such a full and interesting life. I thank God for each and every day of my life. The grief, sorrow, challenges, success‘, losing, winning, surprises, and most of all the caring, sharing, giving, loving, and nurturing that I have had the opportunity to share with others less fortunate and those I love. Each event was a learning experience which has made my life full of ups and down, never knowing what tomorrow will bring.
I believe we all have a purpose here on earth and are driven or directed by a higher power. I believe in God and recognize that he is the Almighty.
My Mother was Catholic, and my Dad and Grandmother belonged to the Church of God. My Mom and Dad often argued about religion and Grandma would quietly side with Dad so at a very young age I decided I didn’t want to be either because it sure caused a lot of arguments in our home. Religion was not for me! I was baptized and confirmed Catholic but when my parents split up, when I was eleven, I lived with my Grandmother and attended the Church of God in Lemmon, South Dakota. Then one Sunday, a young girl (same age as me), pointed her finger at me and said, “You don’t have a Mother.” She made it sound like it was a sin and all the other kids followed her, pointing and chanting. I slid under the steps and cried, missing my Mother. Grandma came and took me home.
From that day on, I became a silent Christian. I believed God’s word but there were a few in His House that were not true Christians and I did not want to risk confrontation with them so I stayed away as much as I could.
Lo and behold, I married a Catholic and Ken insisted we go to church every Sunday. That was great until we had four children, three in one year. It was a challenge to get the children ready but we always went to breakfast after Mass so it was a family event.
But the time came when Ken would not let our daughter go to an evening activity with her friend because it was at her church, which was not Catholic. At that point, I delegated all the religious teachings to him. We didn’t go to church, we didn’t pray with our children, and we didn’t argue about religion.
I was wrong, my children missed the important teachings of God. Sometimes we have to “go back” to correct a mistake. Perhaps that is why I am so drawn to This Old House, located in Lemmon, South Dakota.
“Dear Lord, please lead me, show me the way to discover my purpose in life.”
Georgina (Williamson) Schaff