The Demise of Dad

My brother came home from work on Friday. Normally that causes my dad to wake up and greet him. He did not. My brother checked on dad. He found dad on the bed. Dad could not move his right side. His eyes would only open 25 percent. Dad coughed a lot but could not expel anything from his lungs. My brother called 911. They came and took him to the hospital.

I went with Momoko and my brother to the hospital. Only my brother and I could enter the emergency room. Dad opened his eyes when we came. I felt as though he say and recognized us. But he then closed his eyes. Eventually we left. When we returned later that night, his eyes would not open. The nurse tried to wake dad for some tests. He did not gain consciousness.

We spoke with a neurologist by phone. What he told us was of little importance. The head doctor in the ICU later explained that dad's prognosis is not good. He had bleeding in the brain that is getting worse. There are other health problems with his body. For example, he is now on a ventilator since he cannot breath on his own.

That bad prognosis is hospital speaking meaning dad is about to die. The doctor said he is the patient in the worst condition in the whole ICU. I drove my brother home from the hospital. We plan to see him tomorrow evening. They would normally sent him for daily CAT scans to see the trend of the blood in the brain. But his condition may be too unstable to even wheel him out for the scan.

Dad lived a long life. When we were in high school, he had a heart attack that required open heart surgery. That event changed the way he lived. More exercise and better eating allowed him to live another 30+ year from the heart attack.

When mom passed away last year, I spent about a year "working from home". That meant I would work out of dad's basement. It gave us a lot of time to talk while he was not sleeping, exercising, or shopping. I heard dad recount many of his favorite stories from his life. These were not necessarily new ones for me. Just with a bit more detail.

In her last days, my mom wanted me to be happy with Momoko. She wished that my brother get married and maybe have some kids. And she wanted me to get closer to my dad and really talk with him. I think I succeeded in fulfilling two of her wishes. My brother will have to work on the third.