Addison's Quilt

This story was written as my husband, Dick, was dying from cancer. Even though it was very emotional to write, it was also very therapeutic. The first part was read at his funeral and I have now written a second part that I want to share with everyone who may be grieving after the loss of a loved one. God Bless

ADDISON’S QUILT
By Carol Lee

Mother’s Day 2007 was the most special Mother’s Day ever for the Lee family. Jamie and Cathy handed me a beautifully wrapped package and as I started unwrapping it, I saw a smiling Sun Face. The next thing I saw were the words, “Grandma and Grandpa’s Ray of Sunshine”, surrounding a picture frame. I screamed and we all cried tears of happiness.

We were finally going to become grandparents. The due date was November 28, 2007. Girl, Boy, Girl, Boy. What do we hope it will be? For us, after having two sons, we wanted a granddaughter to spoil! Jamie wanted a girl, Cathy wanted a boy. Most of all, we wanted a healthy baby.

In September, an Ultra-Sound gave us the answer. It’s a girl, and she is to be named Addison Elizabeth. We will call her Addie.

As Dick’s condition worsened, we became fearful that he might not get to see his first grandchild. One day in early October, Joanne Wolcott, our Hospice Social Worker, gave Dick a baby quilt made by the Linus Project, that he was to give to Addison. He was declining rapidly and I knew I had to do something special with the quilt. I started having him hold it on a daily basis and transfer his love for Addison into the quilt.

On Thursday, October 18, it became necessary to hospitalize Dick. It was too difficult to control his restlessness and pain at home. As we were leaving home, I grabbed the quilt, and continued to have Dick hold it.

On Saturday, October 20 as his conditioned worsened, his speech was not always understandable. That evening, I gave him the quilt one last time. As he hugged it, I told him to tell Addison he loved her. In a very soft whisper, he said,” Addison, I love you”. Those were the last words we were able to understand. Dick died on October 24.

As Addison grows and is able to understand, she will be told the story of her quilt and how much her Grandpa loved her, even before she was born.

Addison's Quilt-----Part 2 Addison's Arrival

On November 25, 2007 at 10:30 AM, I received a very exciting phone call from my son, Jamie. Cathy was in labor and they were at the hospital. “OK Carol, slow down, you had better get some clothes on, other than pj’s!,” I told myself.

It did not take me long to shower, get dressed and get to the hospital. I got there around 11:30 AM. Cathy’s mother, Pat, was there also and we had the waiting room to ourselves, as Cathy was the only labor patient. She was handling it well until late afternoon when the pain got very intense. She paced the halls, all of us with her.

Dr Chen (our friend) arrived to give her an epidural, which would control the pain. What a difference that made. She actually was smiling when we next saw her.

Cathy continued to have strong contractions, but was not dilating. Early that evening, the decision was made to deliver the baby by caesarian section. The medical staff moved very swiftly and efficiently to get her ready. Jamie also! He looked so cute in scrubs! He was so calm and very caring with Cathy. Pat and I walked with the parents to be, to the elevator and then started playing the waiting game. Waiting for your first grandchild to be born is very exciting, but we were also concerned for Cathy because of the surgery. Not the way it was planned, but the safest delivery method for both Cathy and baby Addison. .

Around 8 PM, we heard wheels and voices in the hallway. Sure enough, there she was, newborn Addison being pushed by a nurse. Her daddy and a doctor were close behind. They stopped briefly, so we could peek and off they went to the nursery. The new grandmas followed and watched through the windows as Addison was made presentable. She was beautiful and her daddy never left her side, not even for an instant. The nurse put her in her daddy's arms and he sat in a rocking chair, just rocking and staring. It was a beautiful scene; very emotional. The newest addition to our family was born at 7:40 PM, on November 25, 2007, just 4 hours and 20 minutes before her grandpa’s birthday, November 26.

The exhausted mother, was finally brought to her room around 10 PM. After mom and dad had some alone time with their new daughter, the grandmas were allowed to go to Cathy's room and hold her. Jamie placed his daughter in my arms and I had a meltdown. Happy that I was a grandma, but so sad that her grandpa never got to see and hold her. I wrapped the quilt around her and told her through tears how much she was loved by her grandpa and also by me. I didn’t want to let her go, but I could not be selfish. After all, she has another grandma who loves her just as much as I do.

My daughter-in-law returned to her full-time teaching position on Jan 22, 2008 and I frequently have Addison here with me. What a joy it is to just sit and rock her, and have her fall asleep in my arms. I quite often fall asleep also! Being able to do so is what makes being a grandma so special.
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Addison, I love you so much, and so does grandpa.