I'll Go Mo

When I first met Maureen and soon learned that everyone called her "Mo", I have to say that the first thing I thought of was "Mo" from the 3 Stooges! For the life of me, I just could not get used to calling her "Mo". I just couldn't do it. So for years, to me, she was always Maureen.

When my Mom got sick, I was struggling trying to work, and care for Mom at the same time. Maureen, who was living in Arizona with my Brother Rich, offered to come and help me care for Mom. It was within a week that she was on a flight, and on her way to New Jersey to help.
What a blessing it was to have her here to help Mom, and help me.

That was Maureen. She was always first to offer her help to anyone that needed help, even if that person didn't think that they needed help.

Maureen had this uncanny sense of direction. She could be in a place for the very first time in her life, and she would just know how to get around. Rich said "you could put her in a paper bag and spin her around a 1000 times, and she would come out knowing exactly where she was", as if she had a compass on her forehead. If she ever got lost, no one ever knew. I don't think she was ever afraid of getting lost. Rather, I think that she loved the idea of exploring unknown territory.

When my Mom passed away, the whole Family came. With so many arrangements to be made, everyone pitched in. Whenever we needed ANYTHING that required one of us to get in the car and drive somewhere, Maureen was the first to say "I'll Go". We needed Milk…..Maureen would say: I'll Go"
We needed Coffee…..Maureen would say: "I'll Go"
We wanted Pizza…..Maureen would say: "I'll Go"
We wanted White Castle…..Maureen would say: "I'll Go"
And the list went on.

It was at this time that "Maureen" officially became "Mo" for me. Of course it came with the prefix "I'll Go" So she became: "I'll Go Mo"!

To me, Mo was such a resilient person and never let on that she was afraid of anything.
I believe now, that her illness was probably the one thing that she was most afraid of in her life. She fought her illness with incredible abandon.

Rich, who was pivotal to her therapy decisions and her daily battle for survival, tried EVERY treatment option possible for Mo; from conventional to non-conventional and holistic, to clinical studies. Rich would call me almost every day during their fight for her life to keep me posted on what was happening.
What Mo went thru in her fight, is almost too much to take in, and it was just too much for her. She wasn't able to fight any longer.

People come and go in our lives. Some we remember, and some we don't. It is the ones who give of themselves selflessly that we remember. The ones who made either an impact on our own life, or on the life of someone else, or someone close to us.
Mo will be remembered.

God Bless You Mo

Love, Sandy
October 17, 2010