This newsletter is different from my usual format, for reasons that will be made apparent.
Content warning: medical procedures and loss of a family member.
April was supposed to be the month where I got everything prepared to publish Mark of the Champion. My paperback file would be completed, my eBook would be formatted, and the book cover would be ready to send with the manuscript to IngramSpark to begin its journey into preorders.
Then I had to start my medication regimen.
A few months ago I talked with my doctor about how I was feeling fatigued. He referred me to a hematologist at the medical plaza where I normally take Fred for his follow-ups. After a bone marrow extraction procedure, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a condition that affects cells in the marrow, making healthy cells clone themselves. Fortunately my therapy doesn’t involve radiation. Instead, I take an oral chemotherapy capsule for two weeks, then pause for one week, then start again for another two weeks. I also have a blood draw and a subcutaneous shot in my belly each Friday. The therapy schedule is currently six months, but there’s a problem: the chemo pills can make me feel very fatigued. I was warned about this, but that doesn’t make it any easier. Last week it was so bad I had to take a sick day off from work. I thought that would be the worst I would endure that day.
The Birthday
The day I took off work also happened to be my mom’s birthday. I gave her a call in the morning to sing Happy Birthday. Later in the day she asked me to DoorDash a veggie burger to her for her birthday lunch. We talked some more on the phone, then I went back to resting.
Later that night, Fred gave Mom a call to sing Happy Birthday to her. It went to her voicemail. Fred sang the song, hung up the phone, and we were both prepared to hear her call back to say thanks. That call never came.
The next day I called, sent a text, no response. Fred and I got in the car and went to her place in a retirement community called Leisure World to do a health check on her. When we opened the door and went inside, we knew on sight the worst had happened. My mom passed away in her sleep Monday evening, on her birthday.
The World Turned Upside-Down
We called 911, and the EMT instructed us to take Mom from the chair, lay her flat on the floor and perform CPR until the paramedics arrived. I applied the chest compressions while Fred tried to warm her up. It didn’t take long for help to arrive, but when it did, we all knew the truth right away - she was gone.
The Leisure World staff contacted a volunteer grief counselor to stay with us while we waited for the mortuary to come and pick up Mom. She was a tremendous help to us, letting us know what the procedure would be, and talking with us about our feelings and our memories of her. Eventually the mortuary staff arrived, put my mother on the gurney in a zipped-up bag and took her away. I cried, thinking somehow this was all my fault.
The Hard Work Begins
Now Fred and I have to sort out her estate. This is something we’ve never done before, and despite the instructions Mom had given me earlier about the trust and other legal documents, I feel completely at sea. Fred got right on the case, studying the trust, reading through the Leisure World bereavement workbook, and making copious notes. On Thursday we went to the mortuary to set up the arrangements for cremation and to order death certificates to present to banks, insurance policies, and other entities. My supervisor from work joined us in the meeting - she’d gone through being an estate executor herself, and she was more than ready to help us out, for which I am very grateful.
Writing and Business News
Because of the chemo capsules, I have not had the energy to complete the final steps to sending Mark of the Champion to IngramSpark.
Checklist Update:
Continue outlining Book Two in The Champion Tales series
Work on MOTC Book Trailer
Renew our DBA and make a new DBA for our publishing imprint
Apply for my Real ID (in progress)
Apply for new business license after receiving updated IDs
So I was able to cross off one item from the checklist: we got our taxes done. I’ve also taken a step toward getting my Real ID by filling out a form. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but in a month with so much going on, it’s progress.
No Highlight for This Month:
With everything that’s happening in our lives right now, I need to put the highlight section on hold. Hopefully when we make some progress with the estate settlement, I’ll return to my regular newsletter format.
One last thing:
My mom was very fond of pigs, so to lighten the mood, here’s a cute piggy picture.
The Prologue and Chapters 1-3 of Mark of the Champion are on my author website, candyglynnwilder.com/books.
Thank you for reading!
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