Simply Sweet As Can Be: In Memory of Catherine Rose Lewis

On May 20, my step-mom Cathy passed away after battling cancer for five years. She went through seven different chemo treatments and two radiations. It's been pretty hard on everyone that was close to Cathy, but for me it's comforting to know that she is in a better place and doesn't have to suffer anymore. She was only expected to live a few months after she was diagnosed, and it's definitely been a blessing on my dad and everyone else in her life to have her around much longer than that.

I flew into Seattle on Wednesday, May 28th, to spend some time with my dad and go to Cathy's funeral on Friday, May 30th. It was great seeing Cathy's family and friends that I haven't seen in years, and by years I mean like 10 years or more! There was around 200 people at her funeral and many more that weren't able to come but wished they could have, which just goes to show how much she was loved. Cathy was a labor and delivery nurse at Evergreen Hospital for 34 years, so lots of her former nurse co-workers came to her funeral. A few of them said how much of an impact she had on them when they worked together. She loved delivering babies and always put the expectant moms first above anything else.

Cathy has one daughter named Kristin, who happened to lose her dad to cancer less than a year ago. I can't even imagine losing both parents, in less than a year nonetheless, to cancer. I admire her strength that has helped her get through those rough times. Her husband Dave is so amazing and has been the best support for her, I'm grateful she has him in her life.

Cathy ended up passing away much sooner than expected. The doctors were expecting her to live at least a couple more months so told my dad to setup hospice in their home, which is what he did and they started coming on Mother's Day. But she ended up passing away only 9 days after. I'm grateful that she was in the comfort of her own home, surrounded by her closest friends and family members, when she passed.

Going through losing my step-mom has made me realize even more than I already do that life is too precious to not make the most of it. Tell those you love that you love them as often as you can. Be the type of person you would want to be remember as once you are gone. Smile and be happy as much as possible, since being mad is a waste of time!