Today is my Dad's birthday.
He passed away April 9, 2022. I moved into my Mom and Dad's house in Oct. 2021, closing my daycare to do so. (I needed to close it anyway - my CMT was so bad and the overwhelm was out of control). We thought that I was just there to get him back on his feet and give my Mom a break, but it turned out to be end of life care. After Christmas he went downhill fairly quickly and by March he was failing. Luckliy, my brother and his family came for a visit in February and Dad's brother and family came for a visit in March. Home Support started coming 3 times a day at the end of March as Dad was bed bound.
It was a bit rough the last few weeks as we were told to keep getting him up by the nurses (as they thought we could keep him going for awhile yet), but then everyone went away for Spring Break. By the time they returned, Dad was in his last days. The last 3 days were so peaceful - his butterfly meds were put in which eased the Parkinsons spasms that had gotten worse when he couldn't swallow his meds, my sister came every day all day, and he was left in peace. We hope that he wasn't suffering. My Mom had just finished brushing her teeth Friday night and laid down beside him. She held his hand and stroked his face and talked to him. He took his last breath and passed away.
So grateful that he didn't have to sufer through bed transfers etc for months or years. A good death, all things considered. I am beyond grateful that I was able to spend the time with him those last few months. We hadn't had a relationship before that. He was able to teach me about his stamp collecting passion, about his childhood and adulthood. He turned out to be quite a guy. It's my goal to write a book of stories so that my siblings and children will know those things as well.
