"Why am I trying so hard?"

Later in the evening, Schmidt went to his house (that's the other house on the property) to tend to his cats. Ma Schmidt had a sedative an hour before, maybe an hour and a half. She looked at me very earnestly and said, "I love you so much. Why am I trying so hard to stay alive?"

I held her hands and said, "I love you too, but it's OK to let go. You don't have to struggle. It's OK to let go."

She drank some more milk and then settled down.

Then she smiled and whispered, "Thank you." And fell asleep.