LLL may be losing one of it's founding mothers
It's looking as if La Leche League will be losing one of it's founding mothers. Makes me even more sad that I missed the International Conference last year. Edwina Froehlich, one of the LLLI Founders , suffered a stroke on Sunday, May 25. She has been hospitalized since then and is now being transfered to to Hospice care at Northwest Community Hospital.
Marian Tompson, another of the founding mothers, visited her and said that the heart doctor said that he felt the most important thing now was to make her comfortable.
From Marian -
As usual, the Froehlich family was there when I got to the hospital
this morning - David and his wife, Paula, Paul's wife and their
eldest daughter, LeeAnn. Paula showed me the more than 50 faxes
Edwina had already received from all over the world, through the
hospital's website. I held them up and told Edwina about each one
and she put out her left hand and held one up to her face. The
family enjoyed reading the emails that you gave me Rebecca, astounded
that people in all those countries would know about Edwina's
predicament and be sending their prayers and best wishes. LLL of
Ireland sent a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
Edwina seemed much the way she did on Tuesday altho she dozes off a
lot. But when she is awake, for very short periods of time, she will
look straight at you and several times she tried to talk to
me. Once, when she came out of a sleep, she seemed to be surprised
to find herself in the hospital unable to talk.
So we can continue to hold her in our prayers and in our
hearts, thankful that she has been part of our lives for so long.
Love,
Marian
A little about Edwina -
She was of "advanced age" when she had her first baby when she was 36. (Back then most women were done having babies by age 30.) The doctors told her that the breasts of a woman over 30 could never produce milk. She proved all those doctors wrong, giving birth to three sons at home and nursing all of them. In 1956 she was one of the 7 founding mothers of LLL. Edwina, whose role in the early days of LLL was that of secretary, communicated with mothers and health care professionals worldwide. Edwina's husband, John, passed away in 1997. They had enjoyed 49 years of marriage. Now she is proud grandmother of nine grandchildren. I know she's in her 90's now, maybe 92 years old?
Our thoughts and prayers will be with her family. She is certainly an amazing woman who has touched many, many lives over the course of the last 50+ years of LLL.
Marian Tompson, another of the founding mothers, visited her and said that the heart doctor said that he felt the most important thing now was to make her comfortable.
From Marian -
As usual, the Froehlich family was there when I got to the hospital
this morning - David and his wife, Paula, Paul's wife and their
eldest daughter, LeeAnn. Paula showed me the more than 50 faxes
Edwina had already received from all over the world, through the
hospital's website. I held them up and told Edwina about each one
and she put out her left hand and held one up to her face. The
family enjoyed reading the emails that you gave me Rebecca, astounded
that people in all those countries would know about Edwina's
predicament and be sending their prayers and best wishes. LLL of
Ireland sent a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
Edwina seemed much the way she did on Tuesday altho she dozes off a
lot. But when she is awake, for very short periods of time, she will
look straight at you and several times she tried to talk to
me. Once, when she came out of a sleep, she seemed to be surprised
to find herself in the hospital unable to talk.
So we can continue to hold her in our prayers and in our
hearts, thankful that she has been part of our lives for so long.
Love,
Marian
A little about Edwina -
She was of "advanced age" when she had her first baby when she was 36. (Back then most women were done having babies by age 30.) The doctors told her that the breasts of a woman over 30 could never produce milk. She proved all those doctors wrong, giving birth to three sons at home and nursing all of them. In 1956 she was one of the 7 founding mothers of LLL. Edwina, whose role in the early days of LLL was that of secretary, communicated with mothers and health care professionals worldwide. Edwina's husband, John, passed away in 1997. They had enjoyed 49 years of marriage. Now she is proud grandmother of nine grandchildren. I know she's in her 90's now, maybe 92 years old?
Our thoughts and prayers will be with her family. She is certainly an amazing woman who has touched many, many lives over the course of the last 50+ years of LLL.
posted by Carissa @ 2:58 PM
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