Life after death
Posted By NICKI CRUICKSHANK
Posted 2 months ago
Michelle Kennedy remembers the minute her mother's heart stopped beating.
The pain from that memory is still raw, her heart aches, and she can't stop the tears when they come.
"We're still grieving and there are happy and sad tears. The sad tears really came when I had to tell my four-year-old daughter that grandma was gone," said the 26-year-old Barrie woman, pursing her lips as her eyes filled with tears. "What was harder than Saturday was making the arrangements days before taking her off life support."
Sandra Foglia, 51, died Saturday at Royal Victoria Hospital, after being kept on life support for a week. The Barrie woman had been rushed there by ambulance on Nov. 15 when she stopped breathing during an asthma attack. But in her death, she has helped others.
"We kept her on life support long enough for her to live our her dream of donating her organs," Kennedy said, smiling slightly. "They removed her lungs, liver and both kidneys to help give life to other people."
Foglia had suffered from severe asthma throughout her life.
"We thought she was just having another attack," Kennedy said.
"My boyfriend and I were driving mom to the hospital and part way there, she said she wasn't going to make it," said Jessica Remington, Kennedy's younger sister. "We pulled over and called 911, and an ambulance met us and took her there. When they got to us, mom had stopped breathing."
Foglia went into cardiac arrest shortly after, and although RVH staff were able to restart her heart, she was deemed clinically brain-dead.
Her family believes she had contracted H1N1, which triggered the attack. RVH officials have yet to determine whether Foglia's death is linked to the flu.
"We don't have confirmation (of H1N1) or the test results back yet," said Deb Paton, manager of infection and prevention control and occupational health at RVH. "Sometimes it can take up to two weeks to get results back. The other important thing is that she might not have had influenza at all, and it was something else that triggered it."
Losing her mother has taken its toll on Remington, too.
"I came to grips with it later, and I knew she was gone when I saw her laying there all purple," said Remington, 20. "I let myself break down every once in a while, but I think I've been a bit stronger."
Foglia leaves behind her parents,
Fighting the flu: Hospital, health unit and assessment centre remain busy places. Page A3
Ian and Audrey Lyon, of Mississauga, Kennedy, Remington and her adopted daughter, Laura Sarmento, a brother, sister-in-law, grandchildren and a niece.
Though their loss is devastating, Kennedy and Remington are happy their mother was an organ donor.
"I think the grieving process for us would be a lot worse if she didn't do that," Kennedy said. "That made us proud that she donated her organs to give others life after she died."
And to her daughters, that last gesture of giving was a testament to their other's kindness and character.
"My mom fought really hard in life to give us a good life, and that's just who she was," Kennedy said. "So it's fitting that she'd give her organs, too. I wish everyone would be an organ donor. I've already signed the form to donate mine."
Fiona Dempsey, one of Foglia's many long-time friends, said the donation was something you'd expect from her friend.
"She was a great person with great values and she lived 100% of her life helping the people around her," she said.
"Even after she died, she was still helping people by donating her organs," Dempsey added.
"Even after she died, she was still helping people by donating her organs," Dempsey added. "She was a hard worker who never got a break in life. She was the perfect friend and I loved her very much, and will miss her every day."
Kennedy and Remington cling to their memories to keep their mother's spirit alive.
"She was such a selfless person who did everything she could for us," Kennedy said. "She was accomplished in the end, with a house, she got a car and she had three kids and grandkids."
"She came to all my baseball games, and we used to go for picnics and the beach and she'd made us our favourite -- hardboiled eggs," Remington said. "This summer, we all got together at her house and with the cousins and we were all laughing and relaxing together. It was so much fun as a family."
A memorial service for Foglia will be held this Saturday at 3 p. m. at Steckley-Gooderham Funeral Home, 30 Worsley St.
"Mom said she didn't want people wearing all black to the service. She wanted them to wear colour, and she loved pink, so we'll be wearing pink for her."
ncruickshank @ thebarrieexaminer.com
