A few weeks ago, my family and I had to say our final goodbyes to my older sister, Cheryl as she passed away unexpectantly on Feb. 28. She was 73.

Cheryl had been enjoying her final day on earth spending time with her husband, Mark as they closed out the weekend. The night before, Cheryl had gone out for “Ladies’ Night” with her two adult daughters — with nobody knowing she was just hours away from leaving this earth.

The following day, Cheryl complained to Mark of a massive headache. Later on, she was subject to vomiting and nausea. Not atypical for Cheryl as she complained frequently of nagging headaches. Mark told us family members that after she went to lay down he returned to find her unresponsive.

Brain aneurysm. 

By the time she was ushered to the emergency room at Mercy Hospital, efforts to bring her back to life were futile. They immediately did a brain scan and discovered her brain was bleeding and doctors informed Mark there was little they could do. She was not coming back.

I woke from my slumber that Tuesday morning at around 1-ish as I heard a chirping I associated with my clock alarm. As the chirping continued, I suddenly realized it was my phone making the noise so I began searching for it in the dark. Sure enough, as I lifted the device off the shelf, I caught a glimpse of my sister Colleen’s name on the screen. I wasn’t able to answer it quickly enough, but I knew this didn’t mean she had good news to share.

Moments later as I roused myself from slumber, I saw a voicemail from her and played it in my ear. I was aghast. I quickly jumped out of bed and headed to Coon Rapids as quickly as I could.

As my family gathered around Cheryl in the ER, where she was hooked up to machines to keep her alive, several brothers, sisters, neices and nephews stopped by to pay their final respects to the second oldest in our family.  

I had last seen my sister on Super Bowl Sunday at my brother’s house where she constantly tried to slip a wad of cash into my hands to “help out with my bills or groceries,” she told me. I rejected the offer and told her I was doing just fine, yet she persisted a few more times before she gave up and we all headed home.

Two days after she passed, I went to put on my coat and noticed something bulging from a pocket. I reached in and sure enough, there was that wad of money. 

Typical Cheryl. Always thinking of others.

She was a mother of three and had several grandkids that adored her. Her absence from this world will be hard to fathom, but her spirit will reign on in all of us moving forward.

Don’t forget to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you.