My father died Sunday night [View all]

[glinda]

Last edited Tue Oct 7, 2014, 08:49 PM - Edit history (2)

My mother died less than three years ago and my father died Sunday night, just after visiting him. He had suffered for years because of horrors he had seen in WWII and the effect upon the family was profound. And difficult. He battled and won over his chemical demons and not his depression and when my mother passed, he thought about suicide.
I have been putting aside my life for caring for his the last two years and moreover the last five months after he was diagnosed with MDS from chemical exposure from perhaps War or maybe a job he held. (more cases are growing each year) We will never know. A horrible scourge of a disease that is not common and not diagnosed while it morphs your body so that eventually you live like a vampire with blood pacs and tubes. It sneaks up on you. It is terminal if you are older or do not qualify for a bone marrow transplant.
An ambulance took him to two Hospitals twice in the last week and half. He moved care locations four times. He was 87 and his body just finally gave in. Thankfully it was swift....talking Friday, closing eyes and speaking softly Saturday and then Sunday, unable to speak but showing a lot of movement when he heard my voice. Then he passed. It was fast. MDS takes you fast.
But the pain he lived with due to War and to illness was not. It festered.
I am grateful to Veterans so very deeply and sad for what they have had to endure and sorry. Will miss the good parts of him but not the bad.
We need to address our toxins and our Wars people.