[il-talk] Sad news

[denise avant]

Hello all,
This is very sad news. Many of you in the affiliate knew Annette for many more years than I. I had an opportunity to know her because of her excellent work with Washington seminar. My thoughts and prayers go out to Annette's family and friends. She will be missed.





Denise R. Avant, President
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
Live the life you want.
For more information about NFBI, 
Go to www.nfbofillinois.org.

-----Original Message-----
From: IL-Talk [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of pattischang--- via IL-Talk
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2017 12:07 PM
To: il-talk il-talk <il-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: pattischang at gmail.com
Subject: [il-talk] Sad news

Annette Riess Grove, Yesterday at 10:38 AM, friends Dear Family and Friends,

The time has come to welcome Mom home. Despite countless prayers for healing; access to the highest-quality modern medicine; and the best efforts of her doctors, nurses, and therapists, it is now clear that Mom will not be healed in this life. Instead, her victory over cancer will come when she is embraced in the loving arms of her waiting Savior. Mom fought hard, really hard, but cancer doesn’t fight fair.

We feel incredibly blessed to have been given an additional four months with Mom. Since her brain tumors were removed the day after Thanksgiving, we have shared one more Christmas together, rang in another new year, and celebrated Mom’s 78th birthday (February 23rd). These wonderful memories were made possible because of the miracle that God worked through a surgeon’s hands.

Though Mom languished in the hospital for weeks following the surgery, she did not lose her hope. She struggled to overcome a myriad of complications, but she kept trying. At long last, Mom turned a corner in mid-January. Her spirits brightened. Her energy returned. Mom began making significant gains in her rehabilitation. She far exceeded her therapists’ expectations. Mom even ran her own family conference at the skilled nursing facility. She made progress week after week and we starting planning for her return home.

However, as her birthday approached, we sensed something was wrong. Her progress in therapy slowed and, in some ways, she seemed to be regressing. Still, she continued to work hard with her team. We also moved forward with the plan to treat the area of metastasis in her right hip with radiation. Then, last week, Mom’s energy level plummeted. We discovered that her hemoglobin level was critically low and she was admitted to the hospital. She received two blood transfusions and her team searched unsuccessfully for a possible source of bleeding.

Her doctors also ordered another brain MRI. We learned late Monday night that Mom’s cancer has returned and spread farther and deeper into her brain. We met as a family with her (beloved) radiation oncologist Tuesday and made the difficult decision to forego further attempts at any curative treatments. We selected a hospice provider Wednesday. Mom achieved her goal of making it back home last night with a strong sense of satisfaction. As you might understand, we are trying to soak up every pearl of wisdom that continually flows from her lips. Last nights gem was "I think we all want to think we'll go on forever changing world but we can't - and I'm satisfied."

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

We could not be more proud to be sons of our strong and courageous mom. Our family waged war on Mom’s cancer, but it is now time to make peace. Mom’s hope is in Jesus and through Him the victory will be hers.

We have laughed about as often as we have cried over the past few days. We knew our days together were numbered from the very beginning, but Mom’s time is very short now. We count each day together as a blessing.

Please help us welcome Mom home by sharing your thoughts, memories, pictures and prayers with us. We are grateful for your enduring love and friendship.

Peace,
Colin, Allen and David Grove
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Patti S.Gregory-Chang
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois, Treasurer National Federation of the Blind NFB Scholarship Comm. Chair Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________
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