This is a photo I took of Al today when he arrived home from Hospice. I was thrilled to have him home. Although you may not be able to see it his nails were quite a bit darker than usual. This is a slap in the face to me forcing me to realize my baby brother may not have a ton of time with me. He has been very weepy. He saw Rhino the cat and petted him. Then he wept and said, ” I will miss him when I die.”
To You, My Brother
I will cherish you
Through tears
And mumbles
I will stand by
You dear brother
And all of your struggles
My heart bleeds heavily
And this you may know
That when it is time
I will let you go
For in heaven
There will never be
A tear flowing
From either you or me
Only joy and happiness
That you are now free
Is what I will keep
In my heart for me to see.
I love you baby brother
I wrote this
So I shall never forget
How much you mean to your dear sis.
Written by,
Terry Shepherd
09/21/2013
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Who I am 
Hugs to you and Al, Terry! God bless you my friend!
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thanks Loopy, it is good to have him home, always
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You have a beautiful soul my friend. My thoughts and prayers are with you and Al.
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what a nice thing to say my friend. I love that you pray for Al and me. Great big hugs to you from us
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Terry, my heart goes out to you and Al. Please know that you both are in my prayers. Though we’ve never met face to face, I love you very much, and my heart aches for you. Please be sure to talk to Al about Jesus, and let him know that He will take away all of his pain, and that He will wipe every tear away from his eyes. Tell him how much Jesus loves him, and Terry, never forget how much Jesus loves you too.
I pray that He wraps you in His arms of love, and comforts you, Terry, and I pray that you can feel His mighty presence. My friend, don’t be afraid to cry out to Jesus, and don’t worry if you don’t know what to say to Him — just whisper, cry, or shout His name. He is there for you in the midst of your pain, and He promises that He will never leave you or forsake you.
I continue to hold you and Al close in my heart, and my prayers are covering you. May the Lord give you His strength to endure this painful time.
Much love to you,
Cheryl
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It felt odd this week to not speak of death and heaven. Within the first hour of Al being home he brought heaven and death up. Although we speak a lot of what heaven is like and how he will be healed by God, Al is still afraid. I pray continually that our gracious father will heal Al by taking him home, making his suffering less. I know God will when he is finished with Al and until that time arrives, I will be here for Al. Angels and God and I will watch over him. Hugs Cheryl. Love you bunches
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what a mixed blessing. sibling love is so different from other types of love. you and al are in my heart and thoughts. i can only hope for whatever is the right thing for you both. cherish this time as i know you do.
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Thanks so much my dear friend. I only hope that the time he is here is tolerable
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Terry, my heart want to much … but can I do for you both ???? Terry, you are there for him every minute of the his day and I understand how hard it must be to see what happens to Al. Was the same with my mom, I hated to see that her body broke down slowly and that was only the age thing. Wish I could hold you both .. I love the photo with Al and Rhino, animals knows … and Rhino knows that he give calmness to Al and comfort. .
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Rhino is a huge help. He kisses Al when he doesn’t feel good. It’s so cute. I can only be here with him, there is nothing more I can do. hugs Vivi
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Terry, I’m glad that you have come that far in your healing over Al’s situation and to be there for him – is something huge and more than enough.
Animals knows. Had a friend that died at home in cancer and her dog was laying by her feet constantly into the end, to give comfort and to show that he was there for her to the end. Amazing.
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I hear that quite a bit that animals hover near when death is too close. hugs Vivi
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I thougt Al might not come home…That they would want to keep him in the hospital…but, of course I’m so glad he got to…Just cherish each moment as I know you do!…
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when they can’t fix anything they send him home, here he will hopefully remain
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Glad he is home and you are together for a while longer! Enjoy the little moments with him. Your poem is beautiful, Terry , my prayers are for you!
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Although I will never ever forget him, I felt the need to write the poem so I can read it later. Thanks Ute, sure hope your weekend is full of smiles and laughter
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I see your brother has some sort of disease.Will you allow me to pray for him?
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Of course I will. My brother has M.S.A. Multiple System Atrophy. Please, I accept your invitation of prayer
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Was just listening to our Della sounding and acting like our late Pookie this morning and reading this. Our beloveds are always with us, our energies forever intertwined. Cherish the moments while he is still in body here with you and know there will be many more…like everyone…he will be with you after he gets to leave the confines of the body and move to the freedom of etheral spirit. Love and big ol’ bear hugs to you Terry, and to Al and you pretty kitty!
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I am trying to build the biggest memory box I can. I write poetry about him so I can go back and read it later. It is eye opening when you know the time is limited with someone you know and love. Suddenly all the little things matter. hugs my friend
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Hugs, Terry. Glad you have Al back at home.
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it is good to have him back even with chaos, Thanks Brian
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Please read this Terry. I hope you don’t mind
http://wp.me/pOTN0-2jt
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you are so awesome, has anyone ever told you that…………….
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I’m glad you like it
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Thinking of you both xx
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thanks, he is pretty calm this weekend, so calm he is sleeping more, lol
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Terry dear, You’ve given all to your sweetheart brother ~ He knows this and he’ll always take your love & devotion with him, for relationships are the sum of life ! Be peaceful dear friend ~ Al is in Jesus care every second ! My prayers are with you. Faithfully Debbie
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thank you Debbie, this weekend found Al to be the calmest I have ever seen him. The problem comes when he his body gets used to the new increased medications. Then we struggle with what to do in order to keep him as much himself as possible. It was nice to be able to have a conversation with him
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Much love to you and Al. I hope the hospice has improved his medication so he can spend his time at home with you more comfortably. I’m thinking of you both. XXX
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thanks Elaine, Hospice did increase one of his medications. He was so calm he slept a lot. It was nice to have a quiet weekend with no crying from him. He even smiled tonight
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Beautiful poem and sentiment, Terry, and although I know it is just a surface thing, Al does look pretty good considering all he is going through. Give your handsome brother a hug for me, and yourself too. You’ve been a great brother and sister to each other.
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I do like that part, his illness doesn’t make him look ill on the outside when he is sitting still. Any kind of movement than you can see. We had a calm and nice weekend. Thanks Becky!!!
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I am sorry I haven’t been around my friend. You have been in my thoughts and prayers!
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Well hello there!!!!! so nice to see you. Never apologize for anything when it comes to me
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I love your homage to Al and they always make my eyes tear up. I’m also glad he’s home again and that I now know you do have a cat! My cat is all I have left and she knows when I’m sicker than normal (and even forces me to not oversleep). It’s good to know Rhino can offer some comfort to Al, as well. I’m so scared to lose mine as she had a recurrence of a bad cancer after 4 years in remission this summer. We’re trying all we can via surgery and now chemo I give at home, which helps me due to my own illness. You and Al are in my thoughts, as always.
A xo
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I hate hearing that about your cat. I am so sorry. She is your friend and you both need each other. I hope the treatments work my friend. Keep me informed if you would like. Big hugs
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❤ ❤ ❤ and big hugs!
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Heartbreakingly beautiful Terry. Al tilts to the side exactly like my Anthony.
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ya when he is tired his head actually lays on his chest, it is sad to see
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Yes.
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How is Ants doing, aside from his dementia part?
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