Janet Louise Ladd Brzozowski
February 18th 1962 - November 30th 2020
Janet lived a beautiful life.
In June 2020, we received a call that was prayed for by many. Janet had a heart waiting for her at Brigham & Women’s hospital in Boston. After rushing to the hospital and overcoming a flat tire, it resulted that the tissue of the heart was not match. It seemed unlikely that there ever would be a match. But almost one month later on July 19th, we received another call. There was a heart, and this time it was a match.
The heart transplant procedure went as planned, but Janet had severe healing setbacks in the weeks to come. Her body overcame two dangerous bouts of pneumonia, a perforation in her cecum that risked sepsis, and acute kidney failure. We had expected her to be home for Christmas, she had already been through so much and was making good progress. She no longer needed support of a ventilator, was eating orally again, her heart biopsies deduced that the heart was accepted by her body. We thought we were through the worst of it, that the promise of a new heart would be fulfilled; that she would have a longer and more comfortable life. After enduring 5 excruciating months in the ICU and acute rehab center, Janet passed away on November 30th.
You’d never know the trial Janet had been through by spending the afternoon with her.
She was known to be gentle, loving, empathic, and kind. But her strength was unmatched. Janet survived cancer three times; Hodgkins Lymphoma when she was 17 and two occurrences of breast cancer as an adult. Janet passed away at the age of 58. Her pride and joy were her three children and grandchild, and was her happiest when together with them. Her faith in the Lord was so strong and a comfort and refuge to her all of her life. Her favorite hymn was “It is Well with My Soul”, and she earnestly prayed for those in her daily life. She loved sewing clothes for others, spending hours assembling beautiful shirts, blouses, and quilts. She had sewn dozens of items for friends, family, and even friends of family.
We created Janet’s Jammies to honor her and love others in the way she showed us to. To delight in the detail, to stitch care in every garment, and to wrap ourselves in the love of our family.
