Two years ago today, I woke up in the morning knowing that I was going to Stony Brook Hospital to watch my father die. Waking up in the morning knowing that something like this was ahead was one of the most solemn and sad experiences I’ve ever felt. It was a Wednesday and he had just been released from the very same hospital the Friday before after a successful operation to replace a vein in his heart with one from his leg. I had last seen him the Sunday before, in his hospital room.
The day after he came home, he and mom spent a nice day together. They watched the Kentucky Derby together and pretty much had a nice day. The, somewhere towards 11ish, he announced that he was going to bed. He went into the bathroom and then into his bedroom, from where he suddenly cried out, “My neck!”
Mom and my sister Ann Marie raced into the bedroom to find him unconscious. To make a long story short, he went 20 minutes without oxygen in the ambulance on his way back to the hospital. He had already suffered irreparable brain damage. After about three days of watching, waiting and hoping, we all realized that hope was indeed lost and we would remove him from his life supporting respiratory apparatus. That was on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009.
Though dad always kind of took the background when it came to my family, all six of us realized with his passing just how integral a part of the family he was. The family dynamic has never been the same since he’s gone and we all miss him. So happy second anniversary in Heaven dad! Mom, me, Dave, Linda, Ann Marie, Gina and Chrissy all miss you terribly and I just wanted you to know that.
Here’s one of a few pieces that I wrote in his memory during that fateful week. Of course, music played a part in that piece for it was the day my daddy died… Take a read and comment if you will. Thank you!
Tribute to a Father, Part 2: The Day My Daddy Died
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