The aftermath

Yesterday the Casey family congregated in the critical care unit at Montgomery Hospital in the early afternoon. After a final meeting with the doctor, it was decided that they would take the tube out when all Gram's kids were there; we were just waiting for Uncle Michael to get there from York.

Taking the tube out was a very emotional moment; luckily, it was not as traumatic as it could have been as the actual process of removal just appeared to be a large cough from her. Since the nurses had told us that during tests to see if she could breath without the ventilator, she had not lasted longer than 30 seconds before needing it again, we all felt that it would be a short watch as we waited for her last breaths.

Approximately 18 hours later, she took them and passed on at 9 a.m. this morning.

True to her stubborn Dougherty roots, she continued to breath all through the afternoon and night while her children waited with her, telling her that it was OK for her to leave them. The doctors assured them she was comfortable.

Today we spent the day at the house with Pop, just spending time together as a family while her kids took care of the necessary, but difficult, arrangements for her funeral. It will be Wednesday at Mother of Divine Providence Church in King of Prussia. Any donations are asked to be made to Padre Pio in her name.

I will be saying a few words in a eulogy on Wednesday, so please pray for me to have the courage and grace to speak for our family. We spent today going through tons of photo albums to make collages for the church, and it was good preparation for those remarks. For many years, Pop was a photographer and his natural ability to capture emotion on film found its best subject in "Liz," as he lovingly referred to her even in their last time together. I hope I can do them justice.