This column is part of Edge's blog by Regina O'Numb. The words and pics are by Debbie Kreuser.

Friday 24 September 2010

Update - August 24, 2010

FOR BONO - "Vison Over Visibility"


This past week I had a real "Bono" moment....or at least that's what it felt like.
I lost my mother to a twenty year old battle with diabetes in the early hours of 17 August - the birthday of Bono's oldest son Eli. She was 82 years old and had spent the last thirteen years of her life in a nursing home due to the fact that she had suffered two diabetic strokes which left her completely paralyzed from the neck down except for the use of her right hand.

My mother passed away at 4:00 am (the same hour I was born at) as she battled to stay alive in a hospital bed. She had degenerative diabetes for years & the disease compromised her kidney function so bad that she couldn't filter out the toxins & excess liquid out of her body sufficiently which led to continual UTI's (Urinary Tract Infections) and congested heart failures - which finally took her life.



My only solace in all this is that I had gone back home to spend a week with her last month. My mother lived in a nursing home over 1,000 miles away from me so I only got the chance to see her once a year.

I gave my mother the BEST week that we've had together in many years. Something inside of me KNEW that her time on earth was almost up & I wanted to give her the chance, from her wheelchair, to experience as many of the pleasures of her life as she could before the end.



We went out to eat several times so that she could have the chance to sample her favorite foods again - potato salad, fried shrimp, fresh fruit & CHEESECAKE. I took her for a few walks outside so that she could feel the warmth of the sun and the wind in her face, smell the flowers and freshly cut grass and listen to the sounds of everyday life on this planet - children playing, dogs barking, birds singing.



During this entire process, I kept the memory of Bono spending the last few weeks of his father's life together with him inside me. I knew that no matter what I was feeling inside, no matter how much I felt like crying or screaming, I had to be strong for my mother and to show her how much she meant to me. She was buried on 21 August - the 28th wedding anniversary of Bono & Ali and the ninth anniversary of the passing of Bob Hewson.

While I mourn my mother's passing (my father died years ago), there is a part of me which is happy that she is no longer in pain and is resting now. She made mistakes in life but she was a WONDERFUL woman - and a part of her will live on in me.



So, I leave you with several videos which should be familiar to every U2 fan and ask you to EMBRACE EACH MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE. Don't let it pass you by.

Thanks mom - you did the best that you could. You won't be forgotten. And THANK YOU, BONO, for helping me get from the darkness to the half-light - the light is almost here. ~





Video - Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own

by Deborah Kreuser ♫ worldview_14@yahoo.com

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