Cousin to Cousin

An e-mail I sent to my cousin Veronica in Florida...
Hi Vero!
I really hope it works out for you to come out. Too bad that your whole family can’t make it, but I know exactly how that is. The only way we were all able to go to Florida was that Brendan had three frequent flyer tickets he had accumulated through work. Anyway, about Teta…there are great nurses that come in 3 times a day to help move Teta from her bed to the living room so she can be more with the family. They also change her and bathe her every other day. Well, a few days ago, they discovered a large grapefruit size lump right above her stomach. It’s red and it hurts Teta a little bit. They said that it’s a large tumor that has come back and is growing quickly every day. They said that at the rate it is growing, it will soon go up into her esophagus and make it almost impossible for her to swallow anything. Just this past Saturday, she started complaining about chest pains when she swallows and her food/drink intake has slowed down to almost nothing. There is nothing they can do at this point. Teta’s sister Carmen is coming from Guatemala on Thursday and I think your parents are thinking of coming by the end of the month. I really hope that it’s not too late by then. I’m not sure if Tony will come or not. I really don’t think he can handle all of this – emotionally. I know that it’s important to say goodbye --- the nurses (and Brendan’s mom who just lost her own mother six months ago) all say that a person will hold on suffering until relationships are mended and/or goodbyes are said and they are given “permission” to pass on. It's going to be hard since her family lives Florida, California, and Guatemala. I just hope we can get together to honor her, especially since there aren’t very many of us. Well, you do what you can and pass the word on to your family. I’ll keep in touch as much as I can.
Love you,
Leslie