After Easter, my dad's health got progressively worse REALLY FAST. I think Easter was the last time he left the house other than going to the doctor once.
He had tried a new chemo right before Easter (& Easter is when he got really really sick), so basically it didn't do what it was supposed to do. I took him to the doctor toward the end of May & that's when we got the "There's nothing else we can do" talk.
It was heartbreaking. The cancer doctor told him he had about 1-2 months left & that he'd steadily get worse & worse until he passed. It's definitely not news any of us wanted to hear, especially less than 2 months after losing my sweet mom.
On Friday, May 23rd (just 3 days after hearing the news), Dad decided to have hospice come in & get things set up for home hospice care. He called all his grandchildren together & told them he loved them & that he was leaving them each with some money to help with college, weddings, or anything else they needed. He let the boys go through his watch collection & pick out 2 watches to keep to remember him by (like we did with the girls & my mom's jewelry).
It was a rough night. LOTS of tears, I love you's, & hugs.
I think after that, my dad just knew it wasn't going to get better. He made it 3 more full days & then passed away early morning on Tuesday, May 28. Luckily, I was sleeping over at his house (taking care of him) the night before he passed & he woke up & we laughed & joked for about 9 hours. We talked about life, kids, politics, movies, watched some Jeopardy, & just enjoyed each other's company.
Tuesday morning, he passed peacefully in his sleep barely 2 months after my mom. Their love was too great to be separated for very long. I am SO VERY happy for them both. Free of pain, free of suffering, & together forever.
I love you dad. I miss you every single day.
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