Saturday, June 30, 2012

Death when nobody's looking... but first things first, the house

We stopped by the house yesterday knowing that nothings been started but we hoped we were wrong. Of course we weren't, the VA hasn't done their thing yet. Alrighty then.... and so we wait. Maybe I'll have more news next week. We can all hope :) cross your fingers and toes for us!!

Back to the post title. My brother-in-law had been struggling with cancer for the past 2 years and passed away just about 2 weeks ago. Ladies and gentlemen, though it may be an uncomfortable thought, please talk to your Dr's regarding a colon screening. The complications alone was disturbing.
Here are the players, Hank (the brother-in-law) Jen (Hanks wife) and Becky (Jen's sister). I'm going to skip the days before and go straight to the last 10 minutes of Hanks life. The story was told to me through the eyes of Becky.
Jen brought Hank to the ER that morning. Becky was called by Jen just to let her know where she was. Becky drove to the hospital found Jen and Hank neither knew she was there and Becky didn't know what was going on. She thought this was just another trip to the ER for Hank and this is what she saw.
For some reason the curtain had not been drawn. Jen's head was bent to Hank to hear what he was saying. I'll let you know what he said at the end, but not go into detail as to why he said what he said. Believe me when I say, it's a mess and it's a very long story. Jen stood tall and began wiping away the tears that were coming from Hank. Looking at Jen and her body language, I knew things weren't good. During that thought, Jen dropped to her knees at Hanks bedside and looked up. Her shoulders began to tremble, tears streaming down her face and she began pray with all her might. The nurse after a short time helped Jen up and the Dr must have told Jen that I was there. I stepped forward and heard the Dr. say that he needed to check Hanks vitals. I grabbed Jens hand and walked just outside the curtain. The Dr. called her back in and I followed. Holding Jen, the Dr. told her she needed to say her final goodbye because he wouldn't live pass the next 4-5 minutes. Looking at Hank, we realized that he had shut down. Jen began talking with him a bit more and hugged him, gave him a final kiss as the monitor told us that he was gone.
You know how Jen... she's a very strong woman who never shows when she's sad or stressed. I've never seen such raw emotion coming from her ever. It was the most heartbreaking scene I've ever witnessed in my life. It was beautiful and sad all rolled up in the most perfect ball. Jen doesn't know how much or what I saw and I'll never tell her. I love my sister.
Jen began talking to Becky as to what Hank was telling her in his final moments. Becky pieced it together and this is what she said. Hank told Jen that "this is it". Tomorrow won't be coming for me, I will never see another sunset with you. You are my sunshine that I wake to every morning (Hank does not have a romantic bone in his body so for him to say that to her, that's heart wrenching.) I love you Jen with all my heart and I'm sorry for leaving you with the mess I've made. Don't be afraid it will all work itself out and you will have help.
Jen is getting the help Hank spoke of. Hanks brother Joe has been there for 2 weeks getting things in some sort of order. He's gone back home to take care of his own business and drove back this weekend. My husband and I was heading back but I've not been home for the past 2 weeks and got sick during my travels. My Dr. wants me to a bit better before we head back to help Jen. My husband and I will help her with the books for the business. Along with her lawyer, we'll help her decide whether to close the business, keep it going or to declare bankruptcy. We all love Jen and the kids ages 18-23 and we'll all make sure that she'll be okay.

No comments:

Post a Comment