RIP, Dad
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What a life he had! So sorry for your family´s loss, Horace.
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Thanks again, everybody.
@jodi - I didn't know you lived in Madison! That's neat. I spent my first 33 years there.
@Friday - my mom is understandably devastated. This is hardest on her, having lived with him for 60 years. He's a part of her, and the void he left is the most difficult thing she's ever had to deal with. The kids are taking turns being with her, so she can ease into her new life without him. I'll probably spend April there with her in Missouri.
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So sad for you mom. Good that you can spend April there. 1051 Jennifer Street, on the isthmus between the lakes - that’s where we lived. Really old house, found and Indian head penny when I dug up a space to put a garden in the yard. Used to love walking over to the Essenhaus (spelling?). And brats and beer on the terrace at the University. Really enjoyed living there. Great bike rides around Lake Monona.
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Horace, are you from Burke? That's very close to where I grew up (and close to where I still live...for now).
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So sad for you mom. Good that you can spend April there. 1051 Jennifer Street, on the isthmus between the lakes - that’s where we lived. Really old house, found and Indian head penny when I dug up a space to put a garden in the yard. Used to love walking over to the Essenhaus (spelling?). And brats and beer on the terrace at the University. Really enjoyed living there. Great bike rides around Lake Monona.
So sad for you mom. Good that you can spend April there. 1051 Jennifer Street, on the isthmus between the lakes - that’s where we lived. Really old house, found and Indian head penny when I dug up a space to put a garden in the yard. Used to love walking over to the Essenhaus (spelling?). And brats and beer on the terrace at the University. Really enjoyed living there. Great bike rides around Lake Monona.
Yes, it's a beautiful area. I spent my 0-dark-o'clock mornings my freshman year at the UW, rowing lake Mendota on the freshman crew team.
Education is extremely important.
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So sad for you mom. Good that you can spend April there. 1051 Jennifer Street, on the isthmus between the lakes - that’s where we lived. Really old house, found and Indian head penny when I dug up a space to put a garden in the yard. Used to love walking over to the Essenhaus (spelling?). And brats and beer on the terrace at the University. Really enjoyed living there. Great bike rides around Lake Monona.
Yes, it's a beautiful area. I spent my 0-dark-o'clock mornings my freshman year at the UW, rowing lake Mendota on the freshman crew team.
@horace :couple_with_heart:
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I flew into Missouri Saturday the 6th expecting to be able to spend some quality time with my Mom and Dad, a few days before the other two siblings and their families were coming in, for a large family get-together. My dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about a year ago, so everybody knew the clock was ticking. He chose to do a surgery because his oncologist dangled the words "possibly curative", and my dad really wanted to watch more of his grandkids lives. The surgeon disagreed and told him the surgery would not extend his life expectancy regardless. But he had the surgery last September, a very risky and painful one. He squeeked through it, but then in January 2021 they scanned him again and the cancer was in his liver, so it was just a matter of time. When I got there on the 6th, he had deteriorated drastically over just the recent few days. He'd gone from walking around, alert and relatively chatty, to being unable to stand or easily process or pronounce words. I'm still not sure why the cognition declined so much. Maybe it's a natural part of the dying process as the whole body shuts down, or the other theory my family has is that the cancer had spread to his brain. I don't know how it could have grown so fast, just a week or so, if that was the reason. Hospice got him a hospital bed for the living room on Sunday the 7th, and mom and I were giving him water through a syringe because he could no longer drink out of cups. He would fall asleep between sips. On Sunday night it was clear he would probably not make it to Wednesday to see the rest of the kids, so I called my siblings to get there as soon as they could. They all got there Monday night, but my dad had by that time fallen asleep for the last time. My sister was there for his last breath but my brother arrived a little later. They wheeled him out that night, feet first, as he had sometimes expressed was his wish. To die at home.
@horace I'm very sorry to hear of your loss. I will lift an Ave for your father, and especially for your mother's consolation and for the rest of the family.
