RIP Beautiful Girl

I got two phone calls today.  A short one from my Aunt Sally and a longer one with my Dad.  They were calling to let me know that my Aunt Brenda passed away this morning.  She was 60 years old, 33 years past the 27 year life expectancy the doctors had given her.  She had Down's Syndrome and lived with my grandparents for as long as they lived.  When my Grandma passed away, Brenda moved into a nursing home and was under great care.  Her diabetes stabilized and she was doing really well.  In the past year, however, she started to decline.  She was put on Hospice care in September of 2012 and even though she was doing pretty normally physically, we knew she wouldn't be with us much longer.

Her passing comes as a shock for me, mostly because I try keeping my head in the sand about how bad people really are.

I loved her and will miss her greatly.  She had a beautiful spirit.

Brenda Kay Smith