The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter EVEN though she was bedridden for the past six years, Louise "Momma" Sands was a fighter all the way to her passing just two weeks ago. Loosing sight and mobility did not stop the 92 year old from showing love to her children. She enjoyed the company of her family. Whenever friends or family entered her room, she would share a smile, and whenever they left, she would show her appreciation with tears. "My best memory of momma would have to be her display of the love she shared with us. She had 11 of us and had no favorites, everyone was treated one in the same. The way she conducted herself with the family was fair," said her son, Joseph Deal. Other than taking care of her children, Ms Sands spent her early days in the farms of Eleuthera. It was her daily habit. She also spent her days working in a maid service for homes on the island. Embracing her role as an admirable grandmother, she placed her grand children at the center of her life. She loved spending quality time in the kitchen with them, cooking their favorite meals. "If it is one thing she enjoyed, it was cooking for those kids. She absolutely loved that. She did what we called soupy rice, which was a favorite for her grand kids. When they asked her to make it, she would drop all she was doing and go and prepare it," said Mr Deal. Twelve years ago, Ms Sands had a stroke. Not even that stopped her hustle. She would still go into the farms to work, said Mr Deal. When another stroke hit, six years after, Ms Sands was confined to a wheelchair for six months. Shortly after she became bedridden. "She would mumble words in the beginning every now and again, it progressed, but eventually it got worse and she stopped talking completely," he said. Eeveryone in the family pitched in to take care of Ms Sands so she would not have to go to a nursing home. "We had to pay someone to stay with her during the day and my sisters took turns staying with her during the night. For those six years, we had to do everything for her. We did what we thought was right for her in the sight of God. I believe she held on for that long due to her strength and healthy habits. The mortician told us he had never seen a 92 year old woman with such smooth skin. She had no wrinkles whatsoever," said Mr Deal. While the family did not have much growing up, momma made it work, said Mr Deal, while also describing Ms Sands as "hard working by all means". "Even when she had no work, she would go along with other farmers and work with them, and for her pay, they would give her some of the field produce," he said. Ms Sands taught her children to share amongst each other, whether it was a small slice of bread or a nickel. "There was a time when I didn't have any shoes, but my sister had an extra pair. The shoes had straps on them but my mother cut the straps off and made them mine. They were my Sunday shoes," he said. Ms Sands was a truly unique woman who taught her children and grandchildren to love God, said Mr Deal. "When God made momma, he broke the mold because there is none like her," he said. She never sent the children to church, perfering to take them personally, every Sunday.