My 'Yearly' Greetings have gotten further and further apart, and perhaps this will be the last one. Our yearly summer move to our cabin in Montana was complicated by being the first time that Alice needed oxygen 24/7. In spite of being tied to a 40' tube in the cabin, we were able to get around quite well with portable oxygen, and had a very good Summer. We were able to stop the O2 entirely when we got home io lowland. Alice resumed all her activities, and especially her work with the Homeless at Bethel. We were clearly aware, however, that her idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis had progressed.
On MLK day in early January, Alice felt faint on the treadmill at pulmonary rehab, and started to fall. She was caught by the PT, but unfortunately two ribs were cracked. With pain limited deep breathing, she was back on 24/7 O2. By early April the pain was much better, but there was a sudden hypoxic 'crash' which took us to the hospital in the midst of the pandemic to see her pulmonologist. who found new inflammation by CT and started Prednisone. Fortunately there was a rapid good response, and Alice had two more 'good' months, but with breathlessness with any activity. She had a very good last day, participating in a Zoom meeting with her church circle in the morning, and enjoying sitting on the deck for the cool sunny afternoon. She was planning to listen in to her church choir Zoom rehearsal in the evening and was talking to our son on the phone, when she felt suddenly ill and called for me. I was there in seconds, but neither I nor the EMS who arrived quickly were able to revive her. I never thought she would be first. to die. She was 85 and I will be 90 in September. We had a wonderful 64 1/2 years of marriage, and we all miss her very much.
I continue to have more DNA matches than I can keep up with. Most of mine are from our Drangedal line. I'm sorry that I won't be able to add to my Drangedal/Naas book, but if any of you don't have it, you can get it at:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/n3muf6m1fwkavp5/HansenFamly-Vol2Norway.pdf?dl=0
If anyone has new information, I'd still be glad to get it. Anyone who hasn't been invited to my main Ancestry tree can let me know and send me your email address. My email is still mfhansen@wisc.edu.
I hope that all of the Drangedal cousins are doing well, and hope that the dangers and difficulties of 2020 will finally be over. The 2020 election will the most important of our livea. Our descendants futures, and the future of the planet depend on us choosing the leaders we so desperate;y need.
Vote ... !!
Vote ... !!
My best to you all ...
Marc
I am very sorry to hear of Alice's passing. My condolences, Marc. It sounds like she was able to enjoy a wonderful life until the very end, even under the circumstances of a pandemic and her own health challenges. So happy you and she enjoyed 64 1/2 wonderful years of marriage! I will travel to Big Sky, Montana with my husband, Ron, later this week. We are looking forward to a vacation although my children are totally against the trip because of the pandemic. What a year 2020 has been. Can't wait to vote in November for Big Change!
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