Better Than the Magi...

12:17 AM Elizabeth Seckman 33 Comments

Bad people make for great headlines. We are bombarded with so much bad news that we sometimes need reminded that beautiful, wonderful souls live among us. That's why I asked Patti to stop by for the holidays.

Guest blogger Patti Roberts

When I first met Patti, she was Ms. Roberts, my son's first grade teacher. My little Cole was a perfectionist. He would get belly aches over red ink. Patti figured that out fast, so his papers came home with big smiley faces, stickers, and words of encouragement next to corrections. I mentioned to someone how special this lady was and I was informed...I didn't know the half of it.

Patti is a special lady, but before I say any more...I asked her to share her story...

The Last Christmas Gift

The year was 1981. I was 29 years old; my sister, Carole, was just 34. It was my seventh year of teaching. Carole had had brain surgery to remove a malignant tumor on the second of January of that year. It was not to be that all of it could be removed. The tumor grew again; the cancer also went into her bones. She was at home (where she grew up) with her four children, her parents, and me for several months.

In the early morning on the first Monday of October she had a seizure caused by the pressure of the returned tumor on her brain. The jerking, along with the cancer, caused her shoulder to break. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital where she was then transferred to OVMC. Surgery was performed on her shoulder. She stayed there until Dr. Rik Suyao made arrangements for her to be transferred to Wetzel County Hospital where he would oversee her chemo therapy and where she was close to family and friends.

It was a time period that the wearing of gold chains was popular. With four children Carole could not see spending the money on herself for something as frivolous as a gold necklace. I had a job and a Kaufman's charge card. I was at the mall one day in October and decided that she would have her gold chain. I bought it and gave it to her early-near Halloween. I told her that it was her early Christmas gift...that I was too excited to wait until Christmas. When really I did not know how long she had left. I put it on her; it looked very pretty. She really liked it. A few days later her children and I added a charm holder and four birthstone booties to the chain. She was so very pleased with it and wore it with pride. It wasn't too long though that the chain made a rash on her neck, and it had to be removed. It could have been caused by the foreign chemicals in her body.

The days passed; she did not get better. Her condition worsened. We all knew it would be her last Christmas. The entire community pitched in to make this a good Christmas for her and her children. Dr. Rik told her that she could go home and make one trip to town to Christmas shop. We had a hospital bed for her, but her pain was too great. The morphine pills could not control it; she needed it by injection or IV. She went back to the hospital after only being home for 12 hours. She was more at ease there...where people could care for her easier...where she thought that she was not a burden on her family...where her pain could be controlled.

We celebrated Christmas there with her by decorating her room although she really did not realize it as she was always under the influence of her strong pain medication. Christmas Day came and went. We knew the end was very near. We said our good-byes to her. On December 29th at 7:32 pm she took her last breath when Jesus reached for her hand. The next day I took her gold chain with the charm holder and booties to Mrs. Ratcliffe at the funeral home so it could be placed around Carole's neck. It was buried with her.

It was my last Christmas gift to her.

What Patti didn't add...she raised those four kids. For years she worked two jobs: teacher during day; retail manager in the evening. She's retired now, but she's still the surrogate mom and grandma. She is the kind of person who steps up...to give, to serve, and put others above herself.

Guest blogger, Patti with five of her sister's grandchildren.
(Now she's a Great Aunt!)
Front row:Piper, Sydney, Patti, and Laney.
Back row: Avery and Colson

And since Christmas is a time for sharing, I thought Patti's story was perfect. Thanks Patti for stopping by and proving there is still much right in this world.

Merry Christmas...and Happy 2013 :)

33 comments:

Suzy, The Grey BrunetteDecember 21, 2012 at 3:51 AM
What a beautiful, yet so sad, story, Elizabeth. Patti sounds like the most beautiful person and I totally understand why you wanted to share her story with us at this time of year.
Merry Christmas to you and to Patti.
x
Al DiazDecember 21, 2012 at 6:48 AM
Patti does have a huge giving heart. Perfect story for Christmas. Congratulations to both. :)
Mark KoopmansDecember 21, 2012 at 7:48 AM
Hey,

I bet Carole is looking down and smiling if Patti is squirming with the Kudos being sent her way.

Thanks for sharing, Liz. It's 2:46 a.m. over here and I needed a positive story about good people to end a long day.

Merry Christmas to the Seckmans and the Roberts family, too :)
Alex J. CavanaughDecember 21, 2012 at 9:42 AM
Patti was a blessing to her sister's kids!
Have a wonderful Christmas.
Sheena-kay GrahamDecember 21, 2012 at 11:46 AM
This was so touching. I almost cried. Yes Liz amongst all the bad news out there you brought both heart and cheer today. Thank you.

And a special thank you to Patti for being such a wonderful person and for gracing us readers with your presence.
David P. KingDecember 21, 2012 at 12:38 PM
That was a great post. Thanks for sharing an uplifting story and message at a time most needed. :)
AnonymousDecember 21, 2012 at 12:40 PM
A lovely story and beautiful reminder of love and selflessness. Thanks for sharing.
AmberDecember 21, 2012 at 4:09 PM
What an amazing story--sad, but beautiful. Thanks for sharing. I have to go blow my nose now.
Tammy TheriaultDecember 22, 2012 at 3:59 AM
that was such a great story, thanks for taking the time to write about it and share it with us!
Annalisa CrawfordDecember 22, 2012 at 6:54 AM
What a wonderful woman Patti is. And a lovely warm story to share.
LibbyDecember 24, 2012 at 11:12 AM
awwww, way to make us cry. Those are lucky kids to have such a terrific aunt.
AnonymousDecember 25, 2012 at 12:34 PM
What a touching, sad story. I'm glad I read about Patti's giving nature.
Tami Von ZalezDecember 26, 2012 at 4:48 PM
Many thanks to linking in to my Countdown to Kitschmas.

Cheers to a fab New Year!

thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com
TrishaDecember 27, 2012 at 11:30 PM
Patti is an amazing person, it seems to me! I can't imagine losing a sibling that young. Then again I can't imagine it ever!
NasDecember 30, 2012 at 3:21 PM
What an inspiring story of Patti. And also so sad.

Wishing you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Tara TylerDecember 30, 2012 at 10:35 PM
beautiful story. out of sadness, inspiration. thanks for sharing it!

happy new year!