Well we took my dad off life support today at 2:00. The doctors said that he would probably pass within minutes to an hour. He was a fighter. He looked great and was fighting like a champ but because his lungs were so bad he was only getting about 40% oxygen into his body and organs. His coloring was better then ever and he held on until a little before 7:00 p.m. He was surrounded by his family and an amazing hospital staff. Meridian Park ICU staff were absolutely amazing throughout the entire ordeal.
My father did not want a traditional funeral service. He only wanted an Irish Wake - not in the traditional form but in the party form. He wanted people to get together and drink and share stories about him. We are unclear on when that will be just yet. We were thinking maybe on his birthday next month. I will update this blog when I have all of the details.
It's still so unreal that he is gone. I understand we all have to die but this just seemed so unfair. I wish he would have gotten a few more years to enjoy his retirement. It seems like he had one thing after the other setting him back.
He was a great man and will truly be missed. Thank you all for being a part of his life. He loved you all.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Friday, August 16, 2013
Update
This update is from his daughter, Anne. As most of you may know, my dad went into the hospital 9 days ago with pneumonia. After getting the news from the doctor that he was very sick and that they would do everything they could but that the outcome did not look good, he first became very sad and then at one point he became very angry and made me promise to post something on his blog for him. So here it goes... My dad wanted to share that he is pissed off. He had come to terms with the cancer getting him but he is so pissed that his lungs were doing this to him. It wasn't fair and he is beyond angry.
I understand his anger. I too am angry. My dad is a very physically fit man. He ran most of his life and when he could no longer run, he stayed active with golf. He was not a smoker and it is not fair that he has a smokers disease and lungs of a smoker. I'm pissed that he got through his chemo like a champ just to end up like this weeks after his final treatment.
I'm pissed that he has had such a struggle. He beat pancreatic cancer, several surgeries, lung cancer looked to be gone. He was a good man, that worked hard, served his country, raise a family and all he wanted to do was enjoy his retirement. I'm very angry. I'm angry that he had to be scared and sad. I'm angry that he got so sick so fast. No time to tell him how much we loved him. No time for him to have one last trip. I'm pissed off.
My dad got sick on a Sunday. He called the doctor and got in on Monday. The doctor told him they would need to do a blood transfusion as his white blood cell count was low. They sent him home and told him to come back on Wednesday for the blood transfusion. I believe had they not sent him home and had they admitted him that day, he would have had a better shot at beating this. Anybody knows that someone that has done chemo is at high risk for getting pneumonia. Why wouldn't they check him for that when he went in? When he went in on Wednesday, they finally sent him to the emergency room. When I got there he was on a small oxygen mask. He was having a hard time breathing. He was a little out of it but not too bad. Within an hour of me being there (I got there around 2:00), they sent him to Intensive Care. That following morning the doctor came in and told us that he would need to go on life support. He was very scared and not ready. My mom and brother had just left. I had no time to contact them to let them know. It was fast and extremely scary. He has made very slow progress and the last couple of days he has gone backwards. Pneumonia is getting worse instead of better and last night one of his lungs collapsed. His lungs are so damaged he does not stand a chance at a normal life. If we keep him on life support he will be in a nursing home with a trach tube in his neck for oxygen. He'd have months to years of physical therapy and he'd never golf again. Any of you that know my dad, know that he doesn't want to live if he can't golf. He is sedated but his body is so tolerant to medicine, they cannot keep him sedated enough. He is miserable and not happy. The one blessing in this horrible situation is that a day after he was put on life support, he was able to talk to me by shaking his head yes or no. He did tell me that he was okay. But he no longer responds, he just squirms and grimises in pain, his eyes open and you can only see sadness. No real response. So it is with very heavy hearts that we have decided to end his pain and take him off life support. We will be doing so tomorrow around 2:00. So please say a little prayer for my dad tomorrow at 2:00. I still can't help but to hold out hope that he will breath on his own and be fine. I hope that he will be able to post on this blog himself. It would take a huge miracle but I am still holding out hope.
I want to thank all of you at Summerfield for being a great community and friend to my dad. Bob, I am so grateful to you for your friendship and you being there with him through his chemo treatments. He loves you very much. I always talk to him when I visit and when I would mention your name, his face would turn or his eyes would open. I got to the point where I would mention your name just to see some response. You are a very great friend.
With all of his health scares, I feel like the porch light was turned on for him to go home a long time ago but he just kept circling the block. He has such a zest for life and wants to enjoy every second. I hope he gets another lap around the block.
Sorry for all of my rambling. This was suppose to be short and sweet but I take after my dad - I never stop talking. Hopefully he will post an update in a couple of days but should he "go home", I will post an update.
I understand his anger. I too am angry. My dad is a very physically fit man. He ran most of his life and when he could no longer run, he stayed active with golf. He was not a smoker and it is not fair that he has a smokers disease and lungs of a smoker. I'm pissed that he got through his chemo like a champ just to end up like this weeks after his final treatment.
I'm pissed that he has had such a struggle. He beat pancreatic cancer, several surgeries, lung cancer looked to be gone. He was a good man, that worked hard, served his country, raise a family and all he wanted to do was enjoy his retirement. I'm very angry. I'm angry that he had to be scared and sad. I'm angry that he got so sick so fast. No time to tell him how much we loved him. No time for him to have one last trip. I'm pissed off.
My dad got sick on a Sunday. He called the doctor and got in on Monday. The doctor told him they would need to do a blood transfusion as his white blood cell count was low. They sent him home and told him to come back on Wednesday for the blood transfusion. I believe had they not sent him home and had they admitted him that day, he would have had a better shot at beating this. Anybody knows that someone that has done chemo is at high risk for getting pneumonia. Why wouldn't they check him for that when he went in? When he went in on Wednesday, they finally sent him to the emergency room. When I got there he was on a small oxygen mask. He was having a hard time breathing. He was a little out of it but not too bad. Within an hour of me being there (I got there around 2:00), they sent him to Intensive Care. That following morning the doctor came in and told us that he would need to go on life support. He was very scared and not ready. My mom and brother had just left. I had no time to contact them to let them know. It was fast and extremely scary. He has made very slow progress and the last couple of days he has gone backwards. Pneumonia is getting worse instead of better and last night one of his lungs collapsed. His lungs are so damaged he does not stand a chance at a normal life. If we keep him on life support he will be in a nursing home with a trach tube in his neck for oxygen. He'd have months to years of physical therapy and he'd never golf again. Any of you that know my dad, know that he doesn't want to live if he can't golf. He is sedated but his body is so tolerant to medicine, they cannot keep him sedated enough. He is miserable and not happy. The one blessing in this horrible situation is that a day after he was put on life support, he was able to talk to me by shaking his head yes or no. He did tell me that he was okay. But he no longer responds, he just squirms and grimises in pain, his eyes open and you can only see sadness. No real response. So it is with very heavy hearts that we have decided to end his pain and take him off life support. We will be doing so tomorrow around 2:00. So please say a little prayer for my dad tomorrow at 2:00. I still can't help but to hold out hope that he will breath on his own and be fine. I hope that he will be able to post on this blog himself. It would take a huge miracle but I am still holding out hope.
I want to thank all of you at Summerfield for being a great community and friend to my dad. Bob, I am so grateful to you for your friendship and you being there with him through his chemo treatments. He loves you very much. I always talk to him when I visit and when I would mention your name, his face would turn or his eyes would open. I got to the point where I would mention your name just to see some response. You are a very great friend.
With all of his health scares, I feel like the porch light was turned on for him to go home a long time ago but he just kept circling the block. He has such a zest for life and wants to enjoy every second. I hope he gets another lap around the block.
Sorry for all of my rambling. This was suppose to be short and sweet but I take after my dad - I never stop talking. Hopefully he will post an update in a couple of days but should he "go home", I will post an update.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)