Home Again Prepared for Loss

Over three weeks ago, DH and I left for what was to be a 12-13 day vacation. In preparation for it, I scrambled to write my blogs and to give me some leeway to recuperate from it. I had nearly three weeks of blogs completed before we left.

It turns out it was a smart thing to do. On the third day of our trip and the first morning in Williamsville, NY where we were visiting a cousin, DH got a call from the nursing home his dad was in to tell him his 92-year-old dad was having trouble breathing and they were sending him to the hospital. A call later that evening elicited the information that his father was in critical condition and not expected to live. We had just completed over 700 miles of driving, with me doing most of it, and I knew I would need a couple days to recuperate before making the return trip. Older daughter really stepped up to the plate, going to see her grandfather or "Big Kid" as his granddaughters called him. I won't say he made a 'miraculous' recovery, but by the next day he was again responsive and talking. A couple days later, he was returned to the nursing home with small hope of recovering some of what he lost during his hospital stay. We continued our trip, which was southeastern route via what was supposed to be Gettysburg, PA and Winchester, VA. Due to floods in the Harrisburg area, we kept our route more westerly and headed straight for Winchester, where we enjoyed a slightly shortened trip. We saved an extra day by driving straight through from Winchester to our home. It was a long trip and again, I did most of the driving.

DH returned to visits with his dad, but on Sunday morning we were told his dad had again taken a turn for the worse and refused this time to go to the hospital, saying he preferred to die among the people who cared for him on a daily basis. By Sunday evening, it was clear that he would not recover and on Monday morning, his tired lungs gave up and his body was at peace. We know he has gone to join his Jennie.


Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes