Earlier this month, got the shock of my life to date when I moved my sister out of state and while at a hotel and not seeing her at checkout time, became concerned, left my cell phone number with the desk and got the news 3-4 hours later. Medical examiner said it looked like natural causes, most likely heart failure and that my sister has been deceased about 24 hours.

I tried to help her all that I could, over the past 3-4 years that I spent living closer to her. It was obvious that she had some kind of condition, she could get very manic sounding at times, repeated talking about the same thing over and over for hours at a time, without ever even catching her breath. It was exhausting to try to listen to and to follow. I mentioned about a year and a half ago, some of my personal issues to try to get her to talk about hers - so she could get the right help. She did suspect something wrong with herself. But too stubborn and prideful I suppose to seek help.

I told the Medical examiner in Albuquerque, NM (where she passed) that I thought she could have been bipolar but was never diagnosed, seen or treated for it to the best of my knowledge. It was just the way that she presented herself, day to day and being difficult to understand, to those of us who knew her close (her oldest daughter suspected the same thing)The ME told me that it is
pretty common for manic personalities to die at an earlier age from heart failure if left untreated.

This was just really sad for me. I have dealt with two deaths this month (another on my wife's side) where these were situations where each life could have been prolonged if treated early enought. The other was a 26 year old nephew dying from complications that arose from heavy drinking over the years.
But with my sister, I wish I could have done more to help her In the past year we did grow closer, I believe that we began to respect each other and trust each more, after our conversations from a year ago. I continue to grieve.