Thank you....
 

for your kind words and Prayers. I may need a shoulder or ten to lean on the next few weeks. I know my family will make it through together. I worry the most for my mother. My father passed away on her birthday. I joked to her that he wanted to make sure she would remember him. That won't be a problem. I think we'll have to recognize that day as a celebration of their lives. They have been married 53 years.

We'll take it one day at a time. I hope everyone else will do the same.

Oh, I guess I have never made this clear, but I am a guy. No harm, I still get your sentimites.

Praying for you all, as always.

Your father
 

Dear run4peach1,
Please accept my heartfelt sympathy for your loss of your father. It is true as you wrote that he now is in a better place and has peace.
Warm regards
Birgitta-A

Thank you....
 

and yes I know he is at peace. On Sunday, about 14 hours before he died, I witnessed my father, a proud marine and accomplished athlete, engaged in the battle of his life walking the three or four steps from the toliet back to the chair in his room. He basically collapsed from exhaustion.

I watched as the disease he had been fighting for 15 months start to win. We had our share of victories during that time frame, but the tide was turning. I looked at his frail legs, petechiae and all, and his gaunt frame that was down 40 pounds or so. I listened to him try to clear his throat as his lungs were filling with fluid, making it the fifth time he had pneumonia. He looked up at me and we had a connection. It was a look I had never witnessed from him. Words were not spoken, but I can translate what he was saying:

"Son, I hate to disappoint you, but I think I've about had it. Don't cry anymore, okay? You have been great through all of this, and I will always be proud of you. Take care of that apple of my eye, that daughter of yours. I love you."

I may not have recognized it at the time, but his message to me is crystal clear right now. I want to reiterate that I Pray that my father's passing and my comments on it will in no way discourage those still fighting. Each situation is unique and the road you will travel is individualized. My advice to you, as I have mentioned before, is to be certain you are in a fight, but be equally certain you can win.

I am so thankful to be able to share my thoughts with people going down the same path. The past several postings have made my grief a bit easier to take. As always, you are all in my Prayers.

Dear run4peach1
 

I am so sorry to read about your father. You are in my prayers. I wish I could find the words but the best I can do right now is God bless you.
ann