Tanya’s Last Day

For the last few days of Tanya's life, she was in a hospital bed in our living room. She became less and less able to communicate, but she was always an absolute sweetheart, never complaining. She didn't seem to be in pain when she was laying still. The hospice nurses that visited always commented on the excellent care Tanya was obviously getting. No one could have provided more constant and loving care than Steve did. He didn't lose hope in Tanya rallying again until the last days.

On her last day, Steve could tell that Tanya was on the verge of leaving. Linda (Tanya's mother), Christina (Tanya's sister), Conner (Christina's 4-month-old grandson), Cary (Tanya's father, who flew in from Indiana), and Juanita (Cary's partner) spent the night at our house. Steve noticed a change in Tanya around 3 a.m. and woke up all of us. Tanya's family was gathered around her bed when she took her last breath in her sleep. Her battle with cancer ended before 3:30 in the morning on Wednesday, February 1, 2006.

Tanya wanted to be cremated but didn't want a funeral. She didn't want people to be sad, so she requested that we have a party for her. We'll let people know when that has been planned.

Tanya worked at the American Cancer Society and her passion was helping to fight cancer. To help continue Tanya's fight, Steve will be raising donations to the American Cancer Society through the ASU West Relay for Life, the relay that Tanya and Steve brought into existence.