August 2013 - The 1st was on a Thursday. It had been a little over a week since we submitted our official offer (which was actually a counter offer since our first was way too low - irrelevant!) and we got the call... our offer would be submitted to the bank! Yes! We are spreading the word, and are super excited that we finally have something to distract us!
Two days later, I got a call from my dad. My grandfather (who will only be referenced as Papa) was in the hospital, and he was 3 hours away at his cabin. The tone in his voice did not make me worry, as for an 89 year old man, hospital visits were not uncommon. I assured my dad that we would stop over there during our typical Sunday errands. Ryan and I got to the hospital in the late morning that day and saw Papa in a way that we were not expecting. Papa has Parkinson's and frequently has tremors. When we walking into his ICU room that day, we saw a frail old man flailing as if he was having a seizure. The look on his full time care giver's face was heart breaking. She knew what was going on, but we did not. Because she had been there for hours by then, she gave us the breakdown of what was going on. Papa's blood oxygen level had dipped too low the night before, and they went to the ER to figure out what was going on. Shortly after, he was admitted right to the ICU. The violent tremors were because the hospital did not carry his correct specialty Parkinson's medication and he went too long with out it. His caregiver was able to run back to his house to get it, and he would be coming down from those tremors soon after we arrived.
At this point, it was time to alert the siblings. My oldest brother, Ben, arrived within 20 minutes of us getting there. When he walked in, Papa was sleeping and the nurses asked us to leave so that they could do some testing. The four of us (myself, Ryan, my brother, and Papa's care giver) headed to the hospital cafeteria. Who knew how long we would be there. After some chit chat with the care giver, she asked if she could go home to try and sleep. When we did not object, like a flash, she was on her way and crying the entire time we could see her. Once we are back in Papa's room, we realize this is way more serious than what was led on. I called my dad back. I told him what various nurses and doctors had quickly spewed out to me and thought I was giving new information. Papa has congestive heart failure and he was not releasing the carbon dioxide from his lungs... which was causing the sleeping. About two minutes into my conversation with my dad, he tells me "he's gonna die..." Papa had never wanted to be kept alive by way of machine, and that would have been the only way.
Many other family members were arriving by now. We were told that he is comfortable and that he would peacefully go in matter of hour(s). Ryan and I had been there since about 11am, but I wasn't ready to go. Family came and went. Some came back. At about 10pm I had to throw in the towel. I was exhausted and it was a work night. My aunt and cousin were still there with us. The thought of our beloved Papa passing away in a hospital room alone was unsettling to all of us in the room. Ben decided he would volunteer to come back and spend the night in Papa's room. At about 3am, I am alarmed awake by a text. Papa had passed away very quietly with Ben, his first grandchild, by his side.
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