Christa,
That was very touching. I am sitting here wiping the tears away. I was with my mother when she passed in 1993 and I cry everytime I think of those last moments with her. She and the rest of my family are in Ohio and I'm in California. I was almost like your brother, but I made it in time. We all had to make the decision to stop any efforts to keep her alive. That was the hardest thing I've ever done. I wasn't there to see the decline (it was a short 2 weeks), so I couldn't believe there was nothing else to do. It was supposed to be a routing operation for diverticulitis. I'm still not sure what exactly went wrong, but she slipped into a coma and was terribly bloated (internal bleeding, I think). I know she knew I made it to be with her, because when I entered her room and started talking to her (after catching my breathe at what she looked like), a tear came out of her eye and she turned her head slightly towards me and tried to say something (she was in a coma). I will always wonder what she was trying to say. I am the baby of the family and my mom's favorite (I think, anyway). For the last 3 or so hours of her life, my 2 sisters and I were with her. I wouldn't let go of her hand. My brother came in at the very last, so that we were all with her. We sang "Amazing Grace" (her favorite) as best we could as she passed. The nurse even helped sing.
My point of telling you this is no matter how short or long it's been, moments like this will always make us cry and that's OK. Everyone handles grief in their own way and that's OK, too. Just remember, life does go on and you will always have your memories.
Thank you for sharing your precious moments with us.