My dad passed away exactly 7 weeks ago on Saturday January 11th 2014 at 10:36pm. He was surrounded by his wife, my 2 brothers, my husband and I hours before he passed. We were all able to hold him, be by his bedside and tell stories to him and about him before he left us. My husband and my brother even played videos of my 2 beautiful sons, so he could still see and hear them before he left.
Everyone had commented how fortunate my dad was to be surrounded by his loving family until the very end, but I knew we were truly the lucky ones. We got to hold his hands and watch him take his very last breath. We got to hold him, hug him and kiss him one final time before we left his body.
I will forever be grateful to nurse Julie for being able to read all the signs that my dad only had mere hours left on that Saturday 7 weeks ago. Normally, we all would have left my dad around 10pm, except for my brother who would stay overnight with my dad. She gave us her professional opinion and we all made the decision to stay by his bedside the rest of the evening. To me, it didn't matter whether he was still conscious or not, it only mattered to me that he was surrounded by everyone that loved him and whom he loved dearly.
My dad's final days at Vancouver General Hospital's Palliative Care Unit were probably the hardest days I had to go through, but they were also the days I felt the most love for and from my family. I will forever cherish all the moments I spent with my daddy during those days and all the opportunities I had to hug him, kiss him and tell him how much I love him and how grateful he was my daddy.
As hard as those days were, wonderful memories were also created. During the 5 days we were at the PCU at VGH, I realized how funny my daddy is. My husband fell asleep sitting next to my dad and my dad would poke my mom and gesture towards my husband with a smirk on his face. Often when I asked my dad if he's feeling any pain, he would shout at me saying, "No! You don't need to shout at me. I may be sick, but I'm not deaf."
My favorite memory of his time at the PCU was how he always always always greeted me with a smile and addressed me with his nickname for me every morning! He would ask about the boys and whenever I told him they will be visiting him later, he would smile and nod. Boy, did he loved his grandsons and boy did I loved him!
It has been 7 weeks since he passed and there are still days I refuse to believe that my daddy is gone. Whenever my mom calls and I see my dad's name on my caller ID, I still PRAY, HOPE, WISH, DREAM that it's my daddy calling asking me to come home for dinner.
Daddy, I'm coming home for dinner. I'm coming home to see you. I'm coming home to hug you. I'm coming home to kiss you. I'm coming home to tell you I love you.
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| Oliver, Me and my dad at home before he was admitted to VGH. |
*If you ever feel the need to make a donation to anywhere, I would be grateful if you chose to donate to the Palliative Care Unit at Vancouver General Hospital.
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