Ms. Dorothy Murphy, O.P., R.I.P.

Ms. Dorothy Murphy, O.P. has died of an abdominal aorta aneurysm that burst during an operation. She was the President of the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic for I don't know how many years, but for as long as I've been involved in the Lay Dominicans. This marks the end of an era.

What I can't get out of my mind is something that happened to me last night. I was awakened with fierce acid reflex. I have never had acid reflex in my life. I wouldn't even know what heart burn was except that I had it when I was pregnant.

Dick has acid reflex and is under a doctor's care. Anyway, I woke up at midnight in severe pain, The pain was excruciating. It was paralyzing. I couldn't move because of the pain. It was centered right below my rib cage. My first thought was Dorothy. Is this what she feels? I united myself with her to offer up our pain together. But the pain was absorbing all my thoughts. Since I couldn't move I tried to talk but it was too weak. Somehow I reached over to Dick's side of the bed and took one of his "Tums," that he keeps on his bedside table.

It didn't help. I gradually and slowly reached out to take another "Tums." It had no affect whatsoever. I wondered how many were safe to take?

I thought of praying. My new guardian angel, the Archangel Raphael didn't help. Was this psychosomatic because Dorothy was going through some pain?

Somehow, I rolled out of bed and walked very slowly and bent over to the living room where Dick was watching TV. He immediately came to help me and I told him about my pain. He said that was acid reflex and he went and got his prescription medicine. I took one and it worked immediately.

As we stood talking about my stomach pain and whether or not it was psychosomatic, he told me that Ray and telephoned and said that Dorothy had died during her operation.

Actually, I was too self absorbed with my own stomach pain to grieve at that time. But all day today, I can't get Dorothy out of my mind.

Damn it all! I'm going to miss her.

"Lord, now you let your servant, Dorothy, go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:"