Dear Uncle Mikey....

I was 16 when I met him and not so sure if I really "liked" him, or maybe I just didn't understand him.  He was standing in his mothers hospital room, fresh from Oklahoma and wearing a cowboy hat!  Now keep in mind, we're in a suburb of Chicago...who wears a cowboy hat in Chicago?  His personality filled the room.  Laughing, joking and having a certain arrogance about him.


That "him" I'm referring to is my husbands brother, a man that would become my brother-in-law for the next 30 years...Patrick Michael or as he would say, "Uncle Mikey"


Back at the end of May, I wrote about Michael suffering a massive stroke.  As debilitating as the stroke was, he was making some improvement.  The improvement was ever so slight, but nonetheless, we thought he was making some progress.  He was moved from the hospital last week to a skilled long term nursing care facility just outside of Oklahoma City.  The doctors told his wife that with the severity of this stroke, he no longer had any mobility from the neck down, vision in his right eye was lost along with his bodily functions. 
Michael had been direct with his wife in his wishes that should he ever become debilitated during their marriage, he wanted no type of life support.


Late last night, I received a phone call from his wife.  God called Michael home. 
There are no more feeding tubes, no IV's, no more suffering. 


I do believe he is truly at peace.


The next few days are going to be the hardest.  His wife and son will bring him back to Illinois, back to where he was born and raised.  This will be his final resting place.  This is what he wanted.
We will honor his wishes with the Irish tales and prayers that he so loved, and we will toast to him on his final journey home.

                              Rest In Peace Uncle Mikey.....

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
May the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.