Good-bye sweet Lydia

Last October I received a phone call from the bishop about the Manley family. Lydia recently moved in with her daughter, Elizabeth. As the Relief Society president I was asked to go and meet this family. What I didn't realize was what an important part of my life they would become. Elizabeth and I hit it off from the beginning. I felt like I found another sister. Soon I met her sister Melissa and the feeling was once again like I had found a sister. When I met Lydia we had a special bond. What a sweet person she was. She was in Panama working when she was diagnosed with cancer. She was an extremely healthy person her entire life. When the cancer was found it was already stage 4 colon cancer. She showed none of the normal signs and so it was not found earlier.

Today we lost our sweet Lydia. She passed away surrounded by her daughters, Melissa and Elizabeth. Last Friday I received a phone call from Elizabeth. Her mom was not doing well and they felt the end was near. I cancelled the rest of my appointments and headed over to their home. Every day for this last week we all sat around Lydia's bed. She has been in a coma most of this time. For whatever reason she held on for the entire week. I was with her family each night until about 2-3:00 am taking shifts while others slept. I enjoyed the peaceful feeling of sitting by Lydia's bed and hearing her daughters reminiscence about her life. They say hearing is the last sense you lose and I am sure she enjoyed hearing the many great stories and memories.

Today I left early for the airport to the Jex family reunion. I was quite confident I would not be around when she did pass. As I stood in the security line I received a text message from Melissa letting me know Lydia had passed and was finally at peace. I stood in LAX and shed a few tears. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had to get to know Lydia and the Manley family!