Heaven Gained An Angel

The woman in the picture was my beautiful mother, Florence Ann Hale. She was born to Thomas Hale and Margaret Bauer (Hale) on January 9, 1958. She was the oldest of three girls. She was loved and adored by everyone. She was a violist in the symphony orchestra in Alabama. She was a teacher, writer, violist, wife, mother, and friend. On August 6, 1997, 19 years ago today, she died from a rare cancer called choriocarcinoma. If you don't know what that is, I've explained it down below and there's more to it at this link---->https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001496.htm.

In simple words, choriocarcinoma is a cancer that resides in the placenta and it grows as the baby grows. It spreads like wildfire to many and/or all organs. The doctors told my father back then that in most cases, the baby dies and the mother lives. Can't recall the percentages at the moment. But this was a God-given case, because three weeks after my sister was born, she passed away. 

It was God's plan to take her off this earth, even with a year and a half year old, barely month old newborn, and a husband who loved her so much. However, she's no longer in pain. So, I suppose you could call that a blessing in disguise. It definitely wasn't something that my dad or anyone else in the family would have ever planned for ourselves, but there was obviously a reason for it. We just didn't know it until about 7 years later when my dad met a woman who lived in Michigan. She changed my life forever, let me tell you.

I would never say that I'm happy my mother died, but there was obviously a plan orchestrated from her death... And for that, I'm thankful. If my mom wouldn't have died, Lindsey might not be here right now. I would've lost out on an incredible sister who never fails to love me and support me, even when I am the biggest screw up ever. She is my best friend, my sister, my partner in crime, my support system. Without my mother's death, I would've missed out on an incredible woman who taught me everything she knows about womanhood, maturity, adult life, etc. 

It's been 19 years and don't want to let her go. She has left a huge impact on my heart. I may not be anything like her or look anything like her, but from what others have told me, I was born from someone who was very deeply loved by so many people. And that.... is a gift in and of itself.