No Greater Love Ann McDeed NO GREATER LOVE Price: $21.95 US $23.95 CAN Ann McDeed ISBNs:978-098425965-6 This is the story of my husband's slow decline into complete physical dependency and mental distress during the last two and a half years of his life. The times he remembers who I am, the times he even forgets who he is. The funny things he does or says, always the big tease; the times he is aware of his dementia and cries in torment of his helplessness. The agony we feel for him as he becomes more debilitated. He doesn't want to live this way, being a burden to me; yet doesn't really want to die and leave me. He often begs me to kill him and come with him. My daughter, Kathy, moves in with me to help care for him; her siblings are still supportive and call or visit regularly. Our son, Larry, devised a way of transporting him to several family functions, securing him in the transport chair in the back of his utility van. We are on Hospice assistance--they are a Godsend. He witnessed the worse hurricane season we had in many years without being aware of it. He missed the weddings of three of our grandchildren the summer of 2003. Those three weddings and two trips to the Cocoa Beach Motel, where our large family celebrated Thanksgivings, are the only respite I take from him in the three years before he dies. Don lay in a comatose condition the last few days. I am wakened about one a.m. that morning, his breathing pattern has changed, from pre-death 'spiking' to gasping with a slight gurgle. Two of my daughters sit with me next to his bed talking and even making jokes. He would have loved to be in on that. Even as he lies there in death, he is beautiful. I will never forget the sound of his voice calling my name or the vision of my children following his hearse as he is transported out the door. Goodbye, Don, I'll always love you. Thanks for a wonderful life. About The Author I was born in February of 1926 in New Jersey, raised in a large family of Italian heritage, graduating high school in the tumultuous era of WWII. Met the man in my life at the age of 16, we married four years later after the war and raised our ever-growing family under the difficult circumstances of military life and transfers from one coast to the other. We settled in Orlando, FL the summer of 1962¾hubby was hired by the post office and I eventually returned to the workforce ¾watching Walt Disney World grow out of the nearby swampland. We found ourselves with an empty nest, my husband became ill with heart problems, I took some classes at the local Art School and revitalized the talent I was fortunate to be born with. I found myself writing a monthly newsletter for my active retirement group, took a correspondence course in children’s literature, thus discovering my aptitude for writing. I am fulfilling my remaining years, drawing, writing and enjoying my family and friends.