Life of Mittie

Just like Alex lost his mother at a very young age, my grandmother, Barbara, lost her own mother at a very young age. The circumstances were extremely unfortunate and still leaves messy footsteps upon the memories of my grandmother.

Although we do not know what caused the death of Alex's mother, we do know the cause of the death of his wife. Alex's family was the only family in Beaver, Utah that was not LDS, Mittie being a devout Christian Scientist. As a Christian Scientist, she firmly believed in the concept of "mind-over-matter", her principles towards medicine lying in the notion that the body and mind can heal itself without the use of any type of medical drug. The only problem with this idea was that Mittie was a diabetic, and as we all know, diabetes is an illness that requires the constant companionship of insulin shots and other various drugs to curb its symptoms.

The time came when Mittie had to go to the dentist for a procedure that by today's means and technology would be ever so simple. As a Christian Scientist, Mittie made it certain that she wanted no drugs during the procedure. As a result of the stress of the procedure, Mittie slipped into a diabetic coma and eventually died from it, leaving Alex without a wife and Emma and Barbara without a mother.

To this day, I think the memory of Mittie's death was central in developing my grandmother's set of religious beliefs, which is ever so unfortunate because she has some atheistic views. However, I know that they will one day be reunited and all will be well.