I called Cathie tonight, and she gave me the details of Kirsty’s death and burial. Oddly, she didn’t die of anything related to her cancer. She died of a clot that began in her side, and hit her heart. About noon on Saturday (last), Cathie called Kirsty, and found that she was in a lot of pain with her side. She asked her if she could go to her house, and take her to the Emergency Room. Kirsty agreed. Even though her father was there, she preferred that Cathie do it. When Cathie arrived, Kirsty was in so much pain that she could barely move. Finally, she got up to go to the bathroom first, and Cathie heard her screaming, “Mom, Mom!” Cathie ran back to the bathroom, and caught Kirsty coming out, and laid her across the bed. Kirsty said,”I’m dying.” Cathie yelled for her father to call 911. Just as they got her to the hospital, and on the bed in the Intensive Care Unit, she died right there. They worked on her for 35 minutes, but couldn’t bring her back.
Muslims don’t waste anytime with getting their deceased in the ground. The women are supposed to wash the bodies of the women, but Kirsty had already had it understood that no one but her husband could touch her. It was unorthodox, but they allowed it. Josef washed her, and wrapped her in the shroud. They do not embalm. They put her in a casket to take to the Muslim cemetery, but then they took her body out, and laid her on her side facing east. Her father and Josef got down in the burial plat, and heaped dirt around her body to keep it from falling. They then put a vault over it, and put the dirt on top. Muslims believe that the soul or spirit stays with the body for several days after death (I forget the reason), but the sooner the body decays and goes to dust, the better. That’s why they do not embalm, or put the bodies in caskets or inside vaults, or in any way prevent the body from decomposing naturally.
Kirsty had a dream just a short while before her death. One of her co-workers told Cathie about it. She dreamed that she was in a beautiful place, where there was such peace, and no pain. But people kept trying to pull her back, and she didn’t want to come back. I thought that was interesting.
Cathie is devastated. She didn’t really belive her daughter was going to die. She thought all of the medications she was taking was going to make her well. I didn’t know Cathie thought that way. I knew when I talked to her three weeks ago that Kirsty wasn’t going to live.
I feel so terribly sad for Cathie.
