Time is drawing to an end (Colleen update), (Dec 2016)

I sent out this update on my wife Colleen on December 20th, 2016 :

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I wanted to send out an update on my wife Colleen.

My wife Colleen has been a treasure to me as the love of my life, my soulmate, confidant, advisor, and best friend. We married on June 2nd, 1990 in a small church in Harrodsburg Kentucky.

God truly blessed me with my wife these past 26 years and she has also been an excellent mother to my kids Faith (17 years old) and Mercy (15 years old).

My wife has a great heart, is very compassionate, full of grace and mercy, and loves from the very depths of her soul. This is what caused me to fall in love with my wife and what I still most admire about her. She is a very forgiving person (A model for forgiveness actually) and with any strength in her body has pushed herself to try to help her Mother, Sister and others.

My wife’s faith has also been remarkable given all the difficulties she has faced in her life (Bi Polar since 2006, Congestive Heart Failure since 2010, Non Alcoholic Cirrhosis of the Liver since 2012, severe diabetic since 1999, severe arthritis and fibromyalgia since 2008, on oxygen since August 2014, etc.).

Even in her physical or mental suffering; she has always been a kind and gracious woman. I think all of us marvel at that and wonder if our places were swapped if we could show such grace under fire as she has. Her life has been a living testimony to the Love and Grace of our Heavenly Father and I could not be more proud to be her Husband.

Alas, it appears that Colleen's struggles and time on this earth are coming to an end.

Colleen has been sleeping a lot these past weeks. She was able to wake and spend time with her Mother, Sister and Niece during Thanksgiving, had some time later with my daughters, and last Tuesday December 13th God blessed us with one last full day with Colleen when she was able to rally and wake up. I had a very blessed time with her and I praise God for that tender mercy.

Colleen has not woken up from the time she went to sleep on Wednesday December 14th to now. Her body has been shutting down, unable to swallow, eat or drink.

On Monday (December 19th), after hitting Day 5 with no eating or drinking (Once this starts, average is 15 days till Death), Hospice agreed to move Colleen from our home into their facility as we move down the home stretch.

We have mixed feelings as we come to the end. As this has been going on for years. unlike some, we have been able to process a lot up front. My daughters and I are grieving the loss of Colleen as we will feel her absence in our lives as a giant hole.

However, we are also glad to see her suffering come to an end and filled with the Hope that Jesus Christ has provided to us that Colleen will soon be with Jesus in Heaven.

I want to thank all of you who have prayed and supported us over these many years and wish for you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years for you and your family.

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I then sent this out of December 22, 2016:

Hi All,

I wanted to update all of you, My wife Colleen passed away peacefully in her sleep last night at 1:30am.

I know all on copy who love her will miss her even as do we. Please continue to pray for us (For me her Husband Eric, for My daughters Faith and Mercy, Her sister Tanya, Her Niece Hannah, and especially Her Mother Wanda who is really struggling right now with the loss of her beloved and precious daughter.)

Colleen died a few days before Christmas and I just had a friend share with me He thought God wanted to ensure she got up to Heaven a little early to get her bearings ahead of the big Celebration of Jesus Birth. I smiled at that and I think that is likely very true.

We can only imagine the joy Colleen is experiencing in the presence of both her earthly father and her Heavenly Father and the wonders she is beholding even now. Thanks again to all of you who have prayed for us and supported us over the years and may your families have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.