MaryEllen was a quarter of a century at AP so I had to give this post a strong lede.
Many here know MaryEllen and others at least know of her. I'm reticent about personal matters so those who don't know us personally would have no way of knowing that MaryEllen has dealt with melanoma for the past three years - three surguries and two different immunotherapies. In the fall we saw that none of that was working. We looked into radiation and chemo but neither was right. We went to Dana Farber but none of the clinical trials they were running were even a remote fit. So, while still feeling pretty good, we started with hospice. She was still fairly active at Christmas, full family and all, but over the last few weeks she grew weaker. As we upped Hospice nurse visits to daily, she and her sister planned her death - cremation and in the early spring a gathering. Over the last two weeks she could no longer swallow and we really concentrated on comfort.
At midnight I went to sleep holding her hand. At 0400 I awoke and her hand was not alarmingly cold. But my hand (I have small hands) had considerably more mass than hers. I could see no respiration and after a bit felt her head, which was cold. I then checked her pulse, which was none.
Besides the AP, MaryEllen's major involvement was the Barnstable Comedy Club. As an actor, she paid special attention to her entrances and her exits. In this case . . .
She slipped her earthly mooring very peacefully and with wonderful presence.
["Not My Fault," MaryEllen Slavin]
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