My dad's not well

[user 6393]

Sending best wishes for you and your family....

I lost my dad at the end of July. He was 88 and a WWII vet as well. It's not an easy thing to watch those we love get old and slip away.

sigh

 

[1FJR]

Sorry to hear about that. My grandfather flew P-47's and P-38's in the war out of England. He only started talking about it a few years before he passed away. My thoughts are with you.

 

[Scoops]

Thank you everybody, for your well wishes. i know this is not the Dr. Phil forum, but i know after EOM that i can find friends in this group.

Dad had a good night and while he is still struggling to breathe, his blood gases are better and his heart rhythm is normal. :yahoo:

 

[jnor]

Prayers sent for your dad......glad to hear he is doing better............my dad was a navigator on a B24 in Italy also, wonder if they knew each other??

 

[Dave in NJ]

Hang in there. Our prayers are with you and your family.

 

[bikesniffer]

Hey everybody,just got a call from my sister. got to go down to Forsyth Medical in North Carolina about my dad. pulmonary edema, shadow in lung that looks like cancer, atrial fibrillation, not breathing well on oxygen, wont open eyes. intubating soon

he's 84; was navigator in b-24 liberator flying out of italy into blekhammer, etc. bailed out twice, MIA twice, lieutenant JG, best guy god ever created. his famous saying: "why in god's name would anyone jump out of a perfectly good airplane."

i'll be off the forum for a few days unless i can get my hands on a computer.

hoping for the best, whatever that may be.

Best wishes to you and especially your dad whatever the future holds, my father in law is also currently in bad shape (84 with prostate cancer)

 

[Scoops]

Prayers sent for your dad......glad to hear he is doing better............my dad was a navigator on a B24 in Italy also, wonder if they knew each other??

William Everett Evans from PA

What's your dad's name?

 

[Scoops]

Best wishes to you and especially your dad whatever the future holds, my father in law is also currently in bad shape (84 with prostate cancer)

oy -- life is hard; ride harder.

 

[Dave Migliore]

god bless 'im.....

my dad also served in WWII.

there's a reason his is referred to as "the greatest generation".

dave.

 

[Mooseonagoose]

Scoops, Hope your Pop can hang on for a spell yet with those he loves & who love him in return! The WWII ranks are thinning rapidly, and it's being felt acutely by many in our generation. My Dad was a Pilot in the Pacific Theater himself, and remained in the AF for 26yrs total, ...we lost him in April, a month past his 90th. My thoughts & Prayers are with you.

 

[happyPuppy]

Blessings and Prayers for the old WWII vet,we owe them so much. My late father flew B-25's in Asia. Good to hear his blood gases are better and heart rhythm is better, all good things.

 

[Scoops]

I just received a call from my sister in Forsyth County, NC. A biopsy was performed on my dad’s lung this morning and he has cancer. The doctors said that there is nothing they can do. Dad will be moved to the hospice floor, and is expected to have weeks, perhaps days, but not a month, to live. I'll be going to NC tomorrow morning.

He is in ok spirits considering he is tired of being in the hospital. He has mild/moderate dementia, but he is figuring out that the news is bad because they have disconnected a lot of the monitors. He is a genius – his IQ score with dementia is higher than mine. My sardonic sense of humor demands that I point out I am NOT an idiot!

Please say a prayer for the man who bailed out of a B-24 Liberator over Russia in questionable territory, spent 20 minutes trying to run up a mountain away from a guy with a rifle, and managed to turn the event into one of most entertaining human interest stories I’ve ever heard. Yes, I have it on tape.

To the best guy god ever created: :drinks:

 

[Greg E.]

Yeah..I'm just sitting here thinking...These guys were the greatest generation. What a legacy they left us. Hang on to whatever time you've left with

your Dad. God bless him AND you.

-Greg-

 

[Scab]

Sure would like to hear that tape one day.

 

[Wolfhound]

God be with you, Him, & all WWII Vets. They're the reason we still have this Great Nation. Please Thank Him for all of us.

 

[CODan]

Tell you father I said thank you. Because of men like him I had the chance to grow up in a free country.

I built models of that plane when I was a kid.

My father-in-law was in the Merchant Marines during WWII, very hazardous duty.

 

[Silver Penguin]

So sorry to hear the news of your Dad's prognosis. Add me to the the list of people that would like to hear his taped story. He sounds like a character and a half!!! Be thankful that you have a good relationship and that you are able to share his last days. I'm sure you'll treasure the short time that you have together.

BTW, I've done a little hospice care so if you have questions, drop me a PM. I don't profess to be any kind of expert but might be able to answer a simple query or two.

Jill

 

[Checkswrecks]

I lost both folks to the big C and my heart is out for you.

 

[Scoops]

Dad passed away this morning, Monday, and 4:25.

He died of lung cancer that was only found because he had pneumonia.

I got to talk to him again before he died. I arrived at the hospital Saturday at 2:00 to find him sitting up in bed with everyone around, enjoying conversation and joking around, dependent on an oxygen mask. At one point when he was alone with Mom he asked her if he would be going back to Creekside, their senior living apartment.

Mom said, "no."

He asked, "Am I dying?"

Mom said, "yes."

Dad said, "damn."

He died with a bowling average of 156 and was healthy, vibrant, and active until he developed pneumonia three weeks ago. When antibiotics didn't help, the doctor prescribed an inhaler. After a week, dad told mom he wasn't getting better. This time the doctor sent them to the hospital. The doctors in the ICU struggled for almost two weeks to stabilize his heart rate and clear fluid from his lungs so they could biopsy the mass they found. Friday morning they were able to do the biopsy, which came back as end-stage lung cancer.

I didn't know it, but lung cancer has no symptoms. It is always found by accident, and usually at the inoperable stage.

I stayed awake by Dad's bed all night Saturday so Mom, my sister, and my brother could get some sleep, or at least some fitfull rest. He never regained consciousness again, though he was able to raise his eyebrows and make some jerky motions and an occasional hand-squeeze when we talked directly to him.

His sister, Peggy, arrived from Denver, CO at 8:00 Sunday night. We all sat with him and took turns giving each other privacy with him. As Monday morning arrived, his breathing slowed and became shallow. Mom, my sister, my brother and I saw him draw his last breath. The nurses pronounced him dead at 4:25 a.m.

We thought he had pneumonia. He was supposed to get well.

But, he never lost his sense of humor. His last conscious moments were spent with a smile on his face and the hearty laugh he was known for.

Thanks for listening, and if you still have your dad, please give him a hug or a phone call for me.

sharon

 

[happyPuppy]

Sorry for the loss of your dad, it is evident he was well loved. Take some time for yourself, it sounds like he lived life well, and sometimes no more needs to be said