Dear Emily,
Thank you for sharing your story with me. I am so sorry to hear about your mother. Truly, this kind of thing should never happen, and absolutely cannot keep happening to good people. There has to be something done.
My father wasn't in the best of health, and I know that, but I still wanted him around just for my own sake of being able to get another day to call him my dad. It's so awful that this can just happen suddenly and without any warning. Your mother is so lucky to be alive, but either way, there sadly is no good way out a rupture the older that you are. It seems like it's either you end up dying or you are left in such a condition. I wished that wasn't the case but it's the reality for most, as I have only heard of a very few older people to recover almost fully.
I never thought I'd ever have to find this kind of courage, but I find it hard to accept that my dad died when he didn't have to. I still have so many "what ifs" myself, but I am very slowly coming to terms with this. If my dad could talk to me right now, he'd probably want me to keep going the best way I know how. I want to prevent this from happening to as many others as I can. His death will not be in vain.