Mother went into a nursing home on Wednesday. My middle sister, who's borne the brunt of immediate monitoring--Mother had been living in an assisted living apartment--then left to go to North Carolina with her new husband for a vacation. Last night she fell out of bed and just seemed bruised, but earlier this morning she was disoriented and when the staff checked on her later, she was gone. I suspect she was trying to leave. Mother was not a woman to give up her independence lightly.
Hubby won't be going with me, both from constraints of budget and because I'm not sticking him on a plane for eight hours. The only flights I've found are red-eyes from Salt Lake with a 4-hour layover in New York, then on to Pittsburgh.
No, I am not the person they knew. My sisters' husbands have never met me, and my niece and nephew have no memory of me. I don't expect miraculous reconciliations, but I think I can avoid weird recriminations. And I will be the same person afterwards that I've always been.
Humble thanks to you all. I am a blessed woman.