Beth - WE MISS YOU
Franklin, Mrs. Beth Ann of Holland formerly of Kalamazoo passed away Sunday morning, March 22nd, 2009 in Holland, MI. was born in Kalamazoo, MI. February 3rd, 1973, the daughter of Tommie and Dorothy Ann (lles) Sharp. She was a beautiful and devoted daughter, wife, mother, sister, and friend. She enjoyed spending time with her children, watching them grow and play together. On June 2nd, 2000, she married Jeremy Tyler Franklin, who survives. Together they gave birth to three wonderful children, Jeremiah Thaddeus Franklin who is 7, Michell Aaron Franklin who is 5, and Samantha Faye-Ann Franklin who is 3. She is also survived by four brothers John, Robert, Paul and Joe Sharp. Beth was preceded in death by her father. A funeral service in her memory will be held at the funeral home at 11 o'clock Tuesday, March 24th, 2009, with
a visitation beginning 1 hour prior. Interment at Riverside cemetery. Beth will be missed by all who new her, and is sent to heaven with a million kisses by Sam I am. Contributions in her memory may be made toward the childrens college fund.
Joldersma & Klein
917 S. Burdick
269-343-2628
Songs played at the funeral were "Be E Glad", "Baby, I'm Amazed by You" Lone Star and "The Best of Times" Stix. The gravesite service was at Riverside Cemetery on Gull Rd. , Kalamazoo, MI. Luncheon after the funeral was at the (V.F.W) Veterans of Foreign Wars 8845 S Sprinkle Rd, Portage, MI.
The funeral was officiated gracefully by Chaplain David Blauw. Blauw is the Chaplain at Holland Hospital and was with our family during the entire journey. He did a fantastic job officiating the service. He said many things that hit home for me. The kids did a Great job during the service. Sam wanted to dance with her cousin Zach, Jeremiah sat on Papa John's lap, and Mitchell sat on the couch between Zach and Grandma Stone. Beth's brother Joe gave an outstanding Eulogy. After Joe's eulogy the chaplain opened the floor for anyone whom wanted to speak. Many friends and family stood and professed their love to Beth. I felt an urge to stand and talk about Beth's free spirit and one of her favorite memories of having a flour fight while making Christmas Cookies with Zach and I at my home in Jenison, MI a few years ago. After the funeral we followed Beth and family to the gravesite. I held Samantha during the gravesite service and she repeated to me how she wanted her mommy really, really, really bad. It broke my heart to hear. We celebrated Beth with family and friends with a luncheon at the VFW hall. I printed out pictures of Beth for family and friends to take. It felt good to have family around after such a hard week and funeral. The picture attached is the sister bouquet from the funeral
Beth I promise to be there for Jeremy and the kids.
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
I sit here tonight looking through years of pictures trying to pick out special photos of Beth for her funeral and she lies in the hospital struggling to die. Her body so young but her brain so damaged. I can't believe it is true. How does this happen to a beautiful young women, mother, friend, daughter, sister, and wife? Why does god want her now? It has been approximately 2 days and 7 hours since Beth was removed from life support. The doctors stopped giving her food and water and say they are keeping her comfortable while she passes.
Tuesday, was one of the hardest days of my life. I had to watch my niece and nephews say goodbye to their mom. My baby niece (Samantha) just wanted to lie on her and give her hugs and kisses. She missed her so much over the last few days and has told me over and over that she just wants to go to the hospital and give her mom a "million kisses". At three years old she doesn't understand what is happening. My 5 year old nephew (Mitchell) has a hundred questions. He wants to know what the monitors are for, what the red spot is on the sheets, and what the feeding tubes are... etc. My brother did an excellent job on keeping his explanations of things simple such as: the monitor is just a computer and NOT a device to check her heart rate and blood pressure.... or....The red spot on the sheets is spilled medicine and NOT blood from mommy's IV. Mitchell didn't want to leave the hospital and did a lot of crying. My seven year old nephew (Jeremiah) pretended nothing was happening to mommy. He was afraid to go into the room. He would only peek in on her. He wanted to leave the hospital as soon as he got there. He wanted to go get ice cream or basically do anything that had nothing to do with seeing mommy unconscious in her hospital bed. Jeremiah was getting really anxious so I thought it would be best to get him moving. We decided to go elevator hopping. We went from hospital floor to hospital floor being spies and detectives. It seems crazy to run around the hospital having fun while Beth is suffering but it isn't and wasn't. I am so happy that I could be there to help my niece and nephews process all this stuff the best way they knew how. I am glad I could be there to help Jeremiah play spies, to help Sammy pick out a flower to put on mommy's tummy, to support my brother while he explains all of Mitchell's questions. I think Jeremiah explained our emotions best when he said, "I am sad on the inside but happy on the outside".
My brother feels like part of him has died. He doesn't know if he can ever love again. He is scared, confused, and overwhelmed and wants to be at Beth's bedside but also wants to be with the children to help them grieve. He aches for both his wife and his children. Both him and I never EVER thought the day would EVER come that we would pray for her to go to the lord. We want the suffering to end. Everyone is exhausted. I am exhausted so I can't imagine how my brother feels. My heart aches to hear him beg God to take her. It hurts to hear Beth struggle to breath. Why? Does he have something big in heaven for her to do?
Beth we love you dearly. You are so gently and so kind. I regret the day you leave us! March will never be the same again.
There are things that we don't want to happen but have to accept, things we don't want to know but have to learn, and people we can't live without but have to let go.
~Author Unknown
Saturday, March 14th, 2009
Some of you know that my maiden name is Franklin. The Franklin family is in crisis mode right now. I wanted to let you know that I will be out of town for a week or more. My brothers wife (Beth) had an asthma attack on Thursday March 12th at 1:00am and then went into cardiac arrest. She was without oxygen for many minutes. My brother gave her CPR until the paramedics arrived. Currently, she is in the hospital fighting for her life.
Information from different websites: When a patients blood circulation prevents delivery of oxygen to any parts of the body. Cerebral hypoxia, or lack of oxygen supply to the brain, causes victims to lose consciousness and to stop normal breathing, although agonal breathing may still occur. Brain injury is likely if cardiac arrest is untreated for more than 5 minutes.
Beth has been unconscious for almost 48 hours. At first the doctors didn't have much hope that she would survive and if she did she would have severe brain damage. On a positive note she made some improvements today. Her lungs now have about 97% oxygen and she can breath on her own but it takes too much energy so the doctors have her sedated so she can rest. Docs also stated she was able to respond to movement in her lower extremities. We wont know much until she wakes up. Once she wakes up the doctors will administer tests. My brother has been at the hospital the entire time holding her, kissing her, and telling her how much he loves her. I think he is only getting 15 minutes of sleep at a time. Beth is a stay at home mother of three young children. They have a boy (7 years old), another boy (5 years old), and a girl (3 years old). My brother typically works 50-60 hours a week to support them. His boss told him not to worry about the job right now. I am trying to help my brother the best I can. I am staying with the kids at his house in order to provide some stability. Both families are offering wonderful support to me and my brother's family. I wish I could be at the hospital with my brother but at this time I feel God wants me with the kids and helping with the house.
Prayer Request:
- Pray for my brothers wife(Beth) that soon she will know Gods calling. We need her here and are hopeful this is gods will that she stay with us. If not pray for the loving lord to embrace her fully.
- Pray that the family remains patience and listens to what the lord would like us to do.
-Pray that the Franklin Family can remain supportive and healthy during this crisis.
-Pray that my brother will keep GOD close to his heart and NOT push him away or be angry with him.
- Pray that the children will feel at ease even though they are away from mom and dad right now.
- Pray that god will give our family the proper words and patients.
- Pray that God looks over these children and keeps them safe.
I am asking for no calls unless it is an emergency. I have many family members calling me at this time and I am struggling trying to keep them all informed. I will do my best to send updates on Beth's status via email, facebook, and my blog. Feel free to leave a message on those forms of media at anytime.
Beth is at :
Holland Hospital
602 Michigan Ave.
Holland MI 49423
616) 392-5141
info@hollandhospital.org
