It has been heart-wrenching to witness the grief of my mother who lost her son, my brother Johnny, when she was 90 years old. It has been almost 4 years since my brother died of Covid in the beginning of the Pandemic. My brother’s sudden and unexpected death accelerated my mother’s decline. She was so angry that he and others were not protected in the facility where he was getting short term rehabilitation following surgery. My mother never accepted that Johnny did not come home. They were very close and lived together since our dad passed over twenty years before.

Now my mother has moderate dementia and is in a nursing home where she requires skilled medical care. Every time I visit she wants me to take her home even though I had to sell her home to afford her nursing home care. Every visit she is frustrated and agitated that I don’t take her home since Johnny is waiting for her. I agree with her each time that Johnny is waiting. I do believe Johnny is waiting for our mother but in the home they will share forever.