Final Week

When Wendy got the news that her daughter, Stephanie, was pregnant at age 23, her world was shaken, especially since Stephanie is not even married.  She constantly questioned herself asking what she could have done better as a parent.  After going through a week of questioning and guilt, she came out of it and was able to support her daughter and see the bright side of being a grandmother.  Her daughter had a healthy baby and Wendy spent a lot of time with the baby caring for it as her daughter worked overnight hours at her job.

 

At the age of 55, Wendy has a great relationship with both of her children.  Her son, Michael, moved to Seattle, Washington for a great job opportunity and to be closer to his girlfriend, Janelle.  He got married and they have two children, a 5 year old and a 3 year old.  He does a fantastic job providing for his family. Since he was born, Michael’s son had been displaying some “odd” behavior. Michael and Janelle were in denial about this for a few years and did not investigate the possible causes for this behavior until their son was around 3 ½ years old. After being taken to a child psychologist, it was determined that Michael’s son suffered from Asperger’s Syndrome. He required a lot of attention and Michael worked non-stop, which not only strained his relationship with Janelle, but made him feel distant from his own son.Wendy felt that if she cared for one grandchild, she must care for them all. She wanted to show support to both of her children by helping with the kids.  Often Wendy would fly out to Seattle to help Michael and Janelle when needed. This required a lot of money, time away from work, and time away from Chris. It put a lot of stress on Wendy. As the years passed, however, Michael realized the strain this was putting on his mother and began working less and putting more time into his family. Janelle and Michael began to require less and less of Wendy’s help, which allowed Wendy to stay home and get back into the work rhythm.

On the other hand, Stephanie has always stayed very close to Wendy. Wendy and Stephanie have a strong relationship and they depend on one another tremendously. Stephanie had been dating a man for 3 years who Wendy wasn’t too fond of at first but has slowly grown on her.  He proposed to her at the age of 32 and they got married 6 months later.  They are now expecting another child.  

Wendy decided to retire at the age of 60 to help Stephanie and to spend more time with Chris.  Wendy was working a lot and so was Chris so they rarely saw each other and when they did, they were both exhausted and didn’t have much to say to one another. Their relationship wasn’t as healthy as it once was to say the least. They were definitely going through a rough time in their lives.  Deciding to retire was a very hard decision for Wendy because she had established so many great friendships and been so involved with her career.  However, she knew things had to change quickly because Chris would come home late at night and often smell of alcohol. She did not want this to be another damper on their relationship since they were not as strong of a couple as they once were.  
 

Now at the age of 70, Wendy and Chris are both retired and are happy as ever.  They have been traveling a lot.  They have conquered Europe and now have the time to fly to Seattle and visit Michael’s family. Four to five days a week, they go to the gym together and work out.  One February morning, they were in the car going to workout and Chris was talking about how he had chest pains but he was determined to work out.  This morning changed everything.  Chris had a heart attack while in the pool at the gym.  Chris was 75 years old and was in the hospital for 2 weeks until he passed away.  
 

At the age of 80, Wendy has been struggling to come out of depression after Chris’ death The two had overcome so much in their lives as well as their relationship and could not cope with the devastation. Stephanie comes over at least three times a week to visit her mom and her grandchildren check on her as well but she isn’t the same person she used to be.  Michael is unwilling to uproot his family and his life in Seattle, so he sends financial support, but Stephanie is mostly on her own. Stephanie decides that she needs someone to care for her 24/7 and she knows that she won’t be able to do that right now at this point in her life.  She decides to put her in a nursing home at the age of 83. Wendy has been emotionless and never refused.  Stephanie stated to the nurse that “she is in her own world and thinks that Chris is still alive.” Wendy was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 83 and they believe she has had it for several years now. Wendy made some friends at the nursing home but never seemed happy. Wendy’s children hated to see her in this state, especially Stephanie since they were so close. Wendy passed away when she was 86 years old.