During 47 years of marriage, Raymond and Sharon McClure have parted many times. But when they said goodbye Wednesday morning, it was different. It was for good.

The North Augusta man gave his terminally ill wife a tearful send-off as she prepared to fulfill a wish of spending her last days with her extended family.

"It was the hardest day I ever had in my life," Mr. McClure said. "I guess that's how it has to be."

Mrs. McClure suffers from cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that restricts her breathing and confines her to one room in her North Augusta home.

Mr. McClure and his granddaughter Britney, 17, have watched his wife's health fail over the past 10 years. Caring for Mrs. McClure has taken a toll on Mr. McClure, who has his own health issues, Mrs. McClure said. Her family members in Battle Creek, Mich., wanted to help.

"It's been a hard choice to make," Mrs. McClure said with tears in her eyes. "I'd be sticking my head in the sand if I said this wasn't hard for my family."

The 15-hour drive by car to Michigan would be impossible in Mrs. McClure's condition, said Jan Donnelly, Mrs. McClure's nurse and case manager.

Mrs. Donnelly and her employer United Hospice arranged for Mrs. McClure to fly home so her family can care for her. Northwest Airlines provided her with oxygen tanks for her flight from Atlanta to Detroit.

"She literally can't catch her breath, and now it's happening several times a day," Mrs. Donnelly said. "It's getting a little worse every day, so it's really now or never."

Mrs. McClure's two adult children and five siblings want to be there for her in what could be her last days, said her sister Dee Whalen of Hart, Mich. Mrs. Whalen has not seen her sister in almost three years.

"She's so sick now, so we wanted to take care of her," she said. "The people at the hospice are absolute angels. It's just a miracle that she's coming home."

Mrs. Donnelly will travel with Mrs. McClure, which gives Mrs. McClure, who hates planes, a sense of comfort.

"This is my angel," Mrs. McClure said as she tugged on Mrs. Donnelly's arm. "I know she's been working her fingers off making calls for this. I thank God for it. He knew what I needed."