As I scrolled through my Facebook feed this afternoon, I came across a post about the death of a young woman in Calgary. Jessica had Down Syndrome and her death had been ruled a homicide at the hands of her mother, who is also now deceased. While I can only speculate based on the reporter's account, it appears that Jessica's mom, dying of pancreatic cancer came to the heart-breaking conclusion that her daughter should die before her. She fed Jessica a fatal concoction of drugs and watched her die, then phoned police and was taken to the hospital herself. Now, I supposed that it is possible that in her weakened state, Jessica's mom did this accidentally, without intending Jessica any harm. It is strange that Jessica's father was unaware of what was happening. It is all just so incredibly sad. Jessica's mom was just in her 50's and I think this is why this is resonating with me.
I know that I would not be worried for Catie's future, if I were faced with terminal cancer. Mark is an awesome father and involved in all the decisions around Catie's education, health and future. I know that it would be challenging for him to be a single parent, but I also know he could do it and be amazing in supporting her. How awful to feel that there were no options to have a child live a successful life with support from family. I couldn't even imagine making that decision or watching my child die.
My prayers go out to Jessica's family for healing and peace. To have both mother/wife and sister/daughter die in these circumstances is almost beyond bearing.
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