After four years of fighting fiercely against throat/tongue cancer my aunt decided enough is enough and is letting nature take it’s course. She’s been at home doing hospice care for a while and so she pretty much went to bed, her doctor has been keeping her on pain meds so she’s comfortable and she’s been asleep for days now, surrounded by family and her cat.
Cancer took her tongue, her speech (but iPad with speech synthesizer allowed her to communicate), her ability to eat but not her spirit and her positive outlook right up to the very end.
She’s the youngest of her siblings, closer in age to my sister than to my dad (the oldest sib).
Relatives from around the world are starting their travel plans. I’ve been through this before when my grandparents died, it will be a healthy gathering. While she’s too young it has been a long time coming so it’s not a surprise to anybody; could be hours, could be days but she will be gone soon.
My folks will be hosting some family, so will my wife & I. It’ll be good to have everyone around, my Dad’s side of the family is extremely close to one another.
On the mundane side, it’s my wife and my stepson’s birthday this weekend, and (at my wife’s urging, lest you think me a cad) I was supposed to leave tomorrow for a week-long backpacking trip with some friends. Just a few days ago I thought I would still be able to go but now I’ve got to tell them I’m out and cancel my flight. On the plus side I can watch my kid and his friends go nuts at Chuck-E-Cheese, give him the enormous Lego set and my wife the jewelry that I’ve been hiding around the house 
Writing this is setting the waterworks off so I think that I will head home.
Crap, just got word that she passed away this morning. I am glad that she is free from suffering.