Tuesday, December 28, 2010

I woke up yesterday morning and checked on Dad. He was laying in bed, awake. Before I got him up, I called Dr. Jane's office and explained how Dad had been the past few days. They said they would call me back. I returned to Dad's room and he was sitting on the side of the bed, leaning over some. He said, "I'm having trouble breathing." I told him I had called the doctor and we would be seeing her soon. I got him up and gave him his juice and medicine. I made him oatmeal and coffee. He needed a shower. I took him back to the bathroom and got him undressed. He said, "I've got to sit down." He sat down, naked. After a minute, I tried again to get him in the tub. Simon came in to help me. I washed him as quick as I could, because he seemed really weak and wanted to sit down. We got him dressed back in pajama bottoms. The phone rang and it was the doctor's office. Dr. Jane wasn't working, but they told me we could see the P.A. at 10:30. I got in the shower and Simon sat with Dad. Simon said that my dad was sitting on the couch and looked over at him and said, "Simon, I'm dying." Then he kept feeling his wrist. Simon said, "What are you doing, Papaw?" Daddy said, "I'm checking to see if I have a pulse." We got him ready and took off for the doctor's office. When we got there, the nurse checked his oxygen. It was 53 and they started giving him oxygen and it went up to 90. The P.A. told us he needed to go to the emergency room and would probably be admitted. She felt they would need to run several tests to see what was going on. She would call and let them know we were on the way. We got to the ER about 11:45. The place was packed. I thought to myself, if dad has to sit out here and wait, I don't know what I'll do! He didn't wait long. We stayed in the ER for 7 hours. Peter, Van, Zeb and Simon were there for a while and Betsy stayed with us all day. During that time, we found that Daddy had had a heart attack. We don't know when, but fluid had built up and that was why he was short of breath. Our nurse was great and we assisted her all day. Daddy was the best patient ever, even with the IV and catheter. He smiled and laughed and talked to people as usual, saying things like, "How are you? You're looking good. You hang in there!" One of the doctors asked him who I was and he said, "That's Susie, my wife." The cardiologist talked to us about his heart and another doctor told us he was having heart failure, but they were treating it as aggressively as they could, medically. They got him in a room just before 7:00. Jane, my friend who's a nurse, called and got him a tray for dinner. I knew he must be starving because all he had eaten was the bowl of oatmeal. I asked her to get him fish or all vegetables, because he spits out meat and doesn't like it. They sent up broiled fish, green beans and steamed vegetables. He ate all his beans and most of his fish and veggies. He started to take out his teeth, but I got them and washed both sets off for him. He was alert and bright eyed. Peter came in with Harry and Spencer. They were going to stay about 30 minutes. Van and Simon came. I decided to go get some dinner with Simon and then head home to rest. When I got home, I went in the bathroom and washed my face. I sat down and began to cry. The tears were just rolling and I began to pray. I truly felt God's presence as if his arms were around me. This feeling came over me and I said to God that I could let him go. I went in my bedroom and called my sister, Marie. As soon as we hung up, the phone rang. The nurse at the hospital told me Dad had just passed away. I broke down and Van and Simon were both hugging me and I was saying, "I should have been there." We called my brothers and sisters and met Betsy and Peter back at the hospital. David was driving down from Sugar Mountain. Our friends, Tammy, Sandra and Jackie also came. When I walked in the room and saw Daddy laying there, he was so peaceful and had a smile on his face. We all spent time together, waiting on David, telling stories. We laughed and we cried. A nurse and Kathy, the chaplain, joined us. John McMahan came and we talked to him and then left the hospital. Peter and David came out to my house and we stayed up until about 2am. The last time I looked at the clock it was after 4. We met at McMahan's Funeral home at 9:30. We've had friends in all day and lots of calls. There has truly been an outpouring of love for my Dad and for my family and we really appreciate it. We will be at McMahan's on Thursday, from 5:00 - 7:00pm and there will be a memorial service on Sunday at 3:00pm at First United Methodist Church in Rutherfordton. Daddy wanted to be cremated, so we decided to have an open casket at McMahan's in a cremation casket and will bury his ashes at the Rutherfordton Cemetery with a military committal service. Our Pastor, Ed, has to be out of town for a family wedding, but Tonya Hill has agreed to do the service. I am amazed at God's everlasting love. He always answers our prayers. My prayer has been that Dad would not die of Alzheimer's Disease. My prayer has been that I could do what was necessary to care for Dad. God has held me in his hand and continues to do so tonight........... Susie