Each time I try and put words on this page, I stumble. Tina's first death anniversary has recently passed. It's still such a shock, by doing this page, I'm facing she is truly gone. I've not been ready to accept this.
Tina was a bit younger than I. We were not only sisters, we were the closest best friends you can possibly imagine. Tina was like one of my own kids. Tina suffered most all her life with diabetes. She never let her battles with diabetes stop her from anything. Tina was a completely dedicated Nurse. Tina was in a terrible accident, that left her classified as disabled. This didn't stop her. She managed to walk again, and back to work she went. She could have so easily called work quits, drawn disability, allowed her poor body to rest. No not my Tina. Dedicated to helping others was her passion.
Tina, really just didn't have many things that went smooth or easy for her in life. She fell in love with man she married, that turned into another hardship. Advised not to have children, she did of course. She has one daughter Sheeneka. Born very tiny and very ill. Was a long while before Tina was able to bring Neeka home from the hospital. As most parents, Tina would have done anything to save her baby, and she did. The words for our loss escape me. There just are no words for our precious angel that was here spending time with us. My sister was a true angel of mercy. It didn't matter how much life threw at her, she was always there for others. She never let the hardships life kept tossing her stop her.
She tried so desperatley to let me know time was limited. I just didn't want to listen or hear her talk that way. She was having sever headaches. She wanted to talk of how she wanted this and that. I just could not hear this. I could not imagine life without Tina and would not accept her talking like this. I've such regrets that I wouldn't hear it. Thinking maybe if I would have, it would have made things easier on her. I know she didn't want to leave us. Yet she showed no fear in what she knew that I would not accept. I know my sister knew she was going to be spared the going blind, and other final stages of diabetes. She had already had such a battle with diabetes, and being a nurse she knew all to well how close she was to other stages of diabetes.
On Christmas Eve 1999, Tina suffered a bain stem stroke. She went into a coma. I stayed with her for a few days. Never sure if she knew I was there or not. Not sure what we were thinking. We just didn't understand she could go anytime. She did within a very very short time.
