forreal123

It was 10 years after my mom had passed when we lost our father. Our mother passed away in 1993 after a bout with ovarian cancer. After losing her, we began to cherish our father in an extra special way. We would not allow him to go back and live in that big house by himself.

Just before my mom passed my dad went into the hospital sick also. I will never forget that we had to roll him down to Radiology to see my mom who was there getting some
xrays done. He looked at her sitting on the table as they began to chat. When he finished, we took him back to his room. The hospital aides took Mom back to her room on the stretcher. That was very hard seeming them both there and so sick.

Dad had gone in the hospital because he was diabetic but while in there his sugar had gotten harder to control. It was necessary that he be placed on insulin. So, when he came back home with this new regiment, we were there to help him with his medications and his meals.

A few days after this, my mom’s condition worsened and she passed. After this, we continued to live with my dad and to care for him. He was well on his way learning to cope with checking his sugar and taking the needle to control diabetes. He was on insulin for the remainder of his life.

After about four years of being on insulin, his kidney functions completely shut down. It was necessary for him to start on dialysis. This was another change for him. He was a real trooper, never complaining but just doing what was necessary. We would take turns carrying him and picking him up from the dialysis center. We had to learn the new way that he had to eat because it was not possible to get all of the necessary minerals, etc. out of his blood. So, we had to be very careful with his potassium intake. He could only have a small amount of foods that were high in potassium because too much of this would cause him to go into cardiac arrest. He experienced this and totally passed out. He was put in the hospital and they regulated his body through dialysis.

He was released and was able to continue. His life remained quite the same. When we would vacation in Florida or wherever he continued to go with us as he had in the past. We would schedule his dialysis treatment with a center wherever we were. The people were always so kind and considerate. In May of 2002, Dad suffered a heart attack and was taken to the hospital where he stayed for several days and had to undergo bypass surgery.

Finally, he was discharged and went to a rehabilitation center for therapy. As he was receiving therapy to regain his strength, it became evident that his toe was becoming infected on his foot. The condition began to worsen and his leg had to be removed. Therefore, he was there in rehabilitation longer than expected. So, he had to learn the routine now with the use of the prosthesis. As he was working with this, his other leg began to deteriorate. He went back into the hospital and they had to amputate that leg also. When he returned to rehab, they tried to continue therapy and to teach him how to walk using both prostheses. His began to weaken and trying to do all of this became too much for him. He suffered another heart attack and was in the intensive care unit for seven days on life support. Finally, it became too much for him and he passed away in April of 2003. He was never able to come back home and the rehab center unbeknowingly became his home with some of the finest health care professionals in the world right by his side. We thank God for all the love he found there. He was a wonderful man and he reaped what he had sown.

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