And So it Goes

As many may know, my mother passed away a week ago. After 11 months of fighting for her life, she was finally willing to leave this world, her family, and friends to return to our loving Heavenly Father. My mom is a fighter, and she didn't want to let go, but eventually her body gave out enough to make her realize how close she was to the end of this life.
After the last sibling was flown into town, we had family pictures taken. That was all my mom was holding onto after the doctor said she only had a couple weeks to live. The evening after the pictures were taken I was called home early. My mom gathered the family in her room, where we crowded around her bed. She gave us words of wisdom like "Keep a happy face" and "Love each other." She told us individually how she loves us and that there is no greater joy than to see her children living strong in the gospel. That was a tender night, and it was really the last time we got to say goodbye and tell her how much we love her where she could comprehend.
The following day, my mom increased her dosage of morphine to help with the pain that came with her organs shutting down. Soon her circulation in her fingers and toes decreased, they grew cold, and that chill slowly worked its way up her arms and legs. Not enough oxygen was getting to her brain, and the last day speech could no longer be used. You could only make out "No" if she was asked a question. Her restless, aching body was in and out of slumber the last few hours and my dad continuously reassured her of the love we all have for her, and that we were there for her.
Every hour, her breathing grew more irregular and that's how we knew the end was coming. It was so hard to watch her struggle for breath, for comfort, for that final moment. When that moment came four long sighs were taken. The last two were very vocal and woke up my dad who'd fallen asleep for a short while. The rest of us were already awake. With that last breath, she was gone. My mom was no longer with us, but was with God, happy, comfortable, whole, and with her parents again. It was a blessed time for her, and with that, the despair of my family's loss was overcome with the peace that my family is forever and that we will see her again.

Here is her obituary which was featured in the newspaper a couple days before the funeral.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/deseretnews/obituary-search.aspx?daterange=30&firstname=Elizabeth&lastname=vanKomen&countryid=1&stateid=58&affiliateid=832