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River: State of the FlowerCat, Final Episode
Karen Colleen Savitzky, better known as Mama Colleen, Grandma Colleen, Mama Con, The FlowerCat, and Colleen Elizabeth de Cassis, passed away at 4:30 am this morning. She never regained consciousness after an epic surgery that we both knew going in was risky as hell. (See Episode 9 for the details.) Doctor Rangel, who pulled off a minor miracle two years ago when Colleen was dying of a raging infection, was on duty and called me about 10:30 last night to say that she was fading. Her blood pressure was still dropping, even after being maxed out on medication and fluids. I drove up with N to spend the rest of the night in her room in the ICU.
Colleen was the toughest woman I ever met; after beating the odds two years ago and living a good and mostly happy life for a year and a half more than anyone expected, we all kind of figured she'd win this fight too. I'm deeply sorry to have to tell you that we were wrong.
It was a good thing she never got the transfer to UW -- at Whidbey General she was surrounded and cared for by people who'd known her and loved her for years. We joked with the people at the reception desk about needing a frequent flyer card, and everyone knew her as the woman with purple hair.
I cut off the braid with the last of her purple hair, gave her a final kiss, and said goodbye. When we got home I sang "Eyes Like the Morning".
...
I'll post more later -- Colleen was too great a force of nature to be summed up in a single post. Or a hundred. No need to send flowers; the FlowerCat doesn't need them. Hug somebody close to you and tell them you love them, because you never know whether you'll get another chance.
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