It is with great sorrow that I write this letter.
Meg O’Brien, our mother, our friend, died on December 6, 2008.
She chose to live when she went in for surgeries on her carotid artery and heart, putting her life in the hands of a hospital. She was always distrustful of hospitals, but she knew these surgeries needed to be done. More than her misgivings about hospitals, she wanted more years to write the best-selling novel we all knew was in her. She wanted more years to try to help her kids live a better life. She wanted more hours of drawing pictures with her granddaughter Emily. She wanted that last shot at being on Oprah.
She was recovering amazingly from both surgeries when she choked on her dinner during non-visiting hours on Thanksgiving evening. She was still in intensive care. Her oxygen levels began to drop dramatically, which set off alarms both in her room and in a distant monitoring station. No one came. After many minutes, her heart, deprived of oxygen, went into cardiac arrest, setting off more alarms. Still more precious minutes passed without aid. Eventually a nurse walked into her room, began CPR, and got her heart beating again, but it was far too late. A brilliant mind was damaged beyond recovery, silenced in a way that was both senseless and avoidable.
Meg remained in a coma for the next eight days, with all five of her children remaining at her side as much as physically possible, giving her every chance to make it through this ordeal, hoping and praying for the miracle many said could happen.
She did not make it; there was no second chance. My Mom is dead and I am inconsolable with grief.
There will be a celebration of Megs’ life on March 2nd, 2009 at the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. If you wish to attend please email me at amybeth714@aol.com and I will make sure you receive additional information. If you cannot make it, please spend a little time on March 2nd enjoying one of her books and remembering one of the most amazing women ever to grace this earth.
Rest in peace Mom, know that you are loved and missed.
“If thou of fortune be bereft,
And in thy store there be but left,
Two loaves, sell one, and with the dole,
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul”
Muslih-uddin Sadi
(Meg’s favorite quote)
Thank you to everyone for your love and support during this time of deepest grief,
Amy Koenig (her middle child- and one of her five favorite children)
