To the editor:
My mother's name is Marie, and we have always been as close as two people can be.
Three years ago, she suffered through a stroke; two months later, a heart attack. My life seemed to stop as I felt the chest pains, the shortness of breath and the silence along with her.
But, thank God, the dedicated doctors worked through the night, followed their medical oaths and helped her continue living.
This gentle, loving woman had spent her life hanging laundered clothes on an outside line to dry. She scrubbed the floors with a brush on her hands and knees.
Mom would carry buckets of water from a neighbor's pump to fill the old tub for our baths on Saturday evenings.
I watched her as she worked from morning to night to keep our little three-room house spotless.
I remember that she cooked extra meals for some of the widows on our block.
What I remember most is her love of God. She would sing the songs of faith, and her voice was so beautiful.
Her older years brought her into three strokes and three heart attacks and some confusion from a disease called dementia.
After a time, we traded roles in life, with me being the mother and her the little girl waiting to be fed or bathed or to have her clothes changed.
She would look for her shoes when they were on her feet or her glasses when they didn't help her to see. And, God bless her, she would always kiss someone's hand when they came to visit.
She is my mother. She is Ed's mother. She is a mother to my friend, Mike, who lives with us. She is called mom by our neighbor, Thelma.
We all know how precious she is. The people of Piney Fork all have their stories of hard work, long life and helping others.
Mom is 90 and in a wheelchair. I am blessed to still have her with me. While she is napping during the day and my chores are finished, I think of all of the health care issues that are happening in our capital.
I worry of a day when our government might have a bill written where we cannot live past a certain age. Will our government decide to sign it to take our older citizens from us?
If someone is unable to make their own decisions, will they have their lives ended because they live through our care?
How long and how far can our laws be stretched or completely changed?
How many people have lived through the atrocities of forced death already?
How many millions of dollars would be spent on building euthanasia clinics? Would a forced insurance be made to pay for it?
No - we take care of our own through every minute of their lives and are happy that we still have them with us.
Stand up for life. Don't let our nation's leaders decide when life should be ended.
Carol Bednar-Hauber
Piney Fork
