If you have been reading this blog for the last few years, you have seen me write about my neighbor Dar.  The strong-willed, strong-minded, assertive Dar.

She visited me one evening about 7 weeks ago.  Her 100 year old Dad lives with her and every once in awhile she needs to escape.  So she waits until he falls asleep for his evening nap and scoots over here for 45 minutes.

She had walked her normal 3 miles that day.  Diagnosed with a very rare blood disease, Waldenstrom Syndrome--a form of Hodgkins cancer, but no symptoms, so they are "watching it".

Two nights later, as I sat here in my computer room, looking out at her house, I saw an ambulance pull up and attendants going into her house.  I naturally thought it was her Dad, but about a half hour later, the gurney came out and it was Dar, sitting on it.

The next day I called a couple of her friends here in the park--Jackie, who lives next door to Dar and right across the street from me--was in bed asleep and didn't know anything.

Dar's housekeeper who lives down at the end of the street didn't know either, but had Dar's daughter's phone number and would find out.

Dar's daughter, from North Carolina, had just come in that very morning.  They were getting together so that Dar could make out her Will.

Two days later, I heard that Dar had been having extreme stomach pains and vomiting, so the ambulance was called.  Tests had been done.  She was to have surgery.

Now, this rare form of blood cancer can remain dormant for years and then appear in an internal organ.  There is no known cure.

Dar had a tumor, the size of a large bake potato removed from her Pancreas and two smaller ones--lemon sized, removed from her kidney, liver and had her spleen removed.  

She was in hospital for 10 days and then came home on Friday, May 8th.  The next morning, her daughter, Dad and her sat down for breakfast and all of a sudden, Dar said, "Oh", and fell over onto her left side.  The day before Mother's Day--when her granddaughter was expected to arrive.

Back into hospital.  She had a stroke.

She was in hospital for 10 days and they wanted to move her to a care/rehab facility, but the facility said she wasn't well enough for them to take care of her.

Finally got her moved in the last of May.  Even though Dar could speak a bit and knew her daughter/Dad/granddaughter, within four days, she suddenly decided to turn her back to the door, refused to eat or drink and kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut and refused to speak.

Jackie went to visit her at the care center and said it was awful.  Dar looked awful and Jackie wished she hadn't gone.

I told Jackie and Dar's other friends, "Dar is just waiting for her Angel to come and escort her home.  Her faith is very steadfast and deep and she doesn't want to be here anymore."

Dar died Monday, June 7th.

Everyone was shocked, but I thought, if she did make it through the stroke with rehab, she'd still have some debilitating effects from it and then the cancer?  Would she want to deal with the treatments?  Would she want the pancreatic tumor to come back and kill her?

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It feels very strange to look out these front windows and see her house all closed up, her car removed from the driveway.  I keep expecting to see her pull in with her car.  I keep waiting for her to open my door and walk in.

She had such a dynamic, strong, vibrant personality, that it feels like something is missing from out neighborhood.

Today, her kids opened up her house so family, neighbors and friends could gather together and talk about memories.  It was a nice gathering.

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PLANT TREES

In Remembrance

Darlene C. Nadeau

May 13, 1942 - June 07, 2021

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Darlene C. Nadeau, age 79 of Brighton, passed away after an extended illness on Monday, June 7, 2021. She was born May 13, 1942 in Detroit, the daughter of Clovis and Betty (Holtz) Nadeau. She is survived by her children Lisa Nalepa, Jeffory Nalepa, Connie Hetu and Wayne Hetu. Grandmother of Jeffory, Ashley, Zoe, George, Eleni, Hopejoy, Corey and Shea. Great-grandmother of Cooper and Hunter. Also survived by her father Clovis and brothers Mike and Terry Nadeau. Darlene was a manager of several restaurants. She enjoyed taking her day trips to to many places especially Frankenmuth, liked attending church, was an avid walker, liked her coffee and enjoyed spending time with family and her father. A memorial gathering will take place at a later date. 

  Well last Friday was one of those kind of days, that left me emotional, but so happy. I had talked it over with my sister, last month when she took me up to her house. My mother built me a doll house for my 3rd Christmas. No young girls left to play with it and I wanted to say where it went before I die. Just one of those things you want done...just in case.

Today, my daughter Karen, her oldest daughter Helene, my great great granddaughter Della and her little brother Harrison drove on up to Susan's house to pick it up...to go to my gg daughter Della.

I wrote the history of the doll house and rolled it up like a scroll, tied with a little piece of leather and put it in one of the small closets to stay with the doll house.

"This doll house was made by Dorathy Della Walts in 1943.

She gave it to her daughter, Judith Jean Walts on Christmas Eve that year. Judy was 4 ½ years old.

When Judy’s little sister, Susan Ellen Walts, was born in 1952, she played with it.

When Judy had children, Mark, Pam, Karen & Jennifer, they played with it.

When Judy had granddaughter’s, Helene, Susanna, Madeleine (Rivard) & Elise (Oertel), they played with it.

Judy gave it back to Susan to have in her house and Susan’s granddaughter’s, Kate and Elizabeth played with it. 2015

Now that all those little girls have grown up, Judy is giving it to her great granddaughter, Della Helene, her oldest granddaughter Helene’s daughter, to have. 2021"

They loaded it into Helene's car, I took one last look at it, with my arm draped over my little sister's shoulders, and could remember the exact moment I saw it for the first time. That Christmas 78 years ago.

Sister Susan, daughter Karen, Granddaughter Helene, holding Harrison.,

Della and me.

 A month and a week since I've posted.

Is there an excuse?  Not a very viable one.

Just not in the mood, I guess

This past year plus has made me old.  

I started physical therapy mid May and it has helped.  It is going to take a long time even to learn how to walk again, without staggering from the back pain and the weak legs.  I am booked twice a week through July 15th, with an extension if I need it.

Last Thursday, I finally got up enough courage to allow Kiera (the PT) to stick a couple of acupuncture needles directly into the spot, where it feels hard as a marble.  On my left side--the same spot that has hurt for the last 9 years.  

I woke up the next morning to a bit of soreness, I suppose where the needles went in, but no pain in that area and the "marble" went from one of those big ones, down to a regular size.  I couldn't believe it.

Then yesterday, I bent over to put the cat dishes down on their feeding mat, like I do every morning and when I went to stand back up, my right leg gave out and down I went...banging my right elbow, shoulder and hip.

I had to scoot across the kitchen floor and the living room carpet to get to my recliner chair, where I got up on my knees, grabbed the cushion and pulled myself up enough so I could collapse into it.

When I woke up this morning, I could barely get out of bed, I was in such pain.  My elbow and shoulder are bruised a bit, but it is the right lower back and right thigh that are so painful.

Here I am getting my left back fixed up and now I've set us back by racking up my right back.

I did have an appointment with her this afternoon, but when she saw me, she said my back was so inflammed that we couldn't do any exercises and she just massaged it for about half an hour.

Expecting a prescription of steroids to be delivered tomorrow.

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That reminds me...I heard a knock at my door Saturday and when I opened it, there Kiera stood with her freckled face 10 year old boy.  She handed me a salad and said, "You sit and eat your salad while we weed your gardens."  My gardens are thick this year and the plants are taller and fuller than they have ever been, but I have long grasses that are taller than the flowers.  They cleaned them up good.  Does that qualify for going above and beyond?  She said she was afraid that I'd go out to weed and fall.  Which, I probably would have.

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You remember Dar?  My neighbor.  I certainly have filled this blog with stories about her over the years.

"They" found out in January that she has a very rare blood cancer.  Nothing to do but monitor it to see if it starts invading her organs.

First part of May she became very sick and went into hospital.  They waited a week than did surgery, to find she had a very large tumor in her pancreas and small tumors in her liver and kidneys.  They removed them, but didn't want to pursue chemo right now.

She came home the day before Mother's Day.  Her daughter had driven up from North Carolina to be with her.

Mother's Day breakfast, Dar was at the table with her 100 year old father, who lives with her, and all of a sudden, she said, "Oh!" and fell to the left.  She had had a stroke.

Back to the hospital.  Clot in her brain.  They couldn't operate because her other major surgery had been a short while ago.

The hospital wanted to put her in a care/rehab place, but the rehab place said she wasn't well enough.  So the hospital kept her another week.

She was placed in a place last Monday.  Her daughter and father got to visit her.  Then her daughter went back to NC for a month, her father had to go live with his son, that he can't stand.  They removed all the cable boxes from the house, put her car in storage, set up the house like you would if you were leaving for a long time and closed it all up.  When I look out my left front window over there, it looks very lonely.

Jackie, my neighbor directly across the street and next to Dar's house went up to visit Dar on Sunday.  She called me afterwards to tell me...she regrets going.

Dar lays raised in her bed.  She will not open her eyes.  She will not speak, even though she can.  She has a feeding tube because she can't swallow.  Jackie said she has lost a lot of weight and "looks just awful."

They expect her to be there 3 months...maybe longer.  I'm thinking the pancreatic cancer might take her before then.

Personally?  I think Dar is just waiting for her Angel to come and get her and take her to the Lord.

It's amazing how quickly things can happen.  Just the day before she first went into hospital, she walked around the block then stopped in to visit me.  She seemed just fine.  Spunky as usual.

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On a brighter note:

My granddaughter Madeleine--the ballet dancer, who now teaches ballet, was married just 2 years ago end of May, came to visit and brought my great grandson Benedikt.  It was wonderful to be able to hug and kiss and sit close to talk.  She also brought news that she is expecting in January.