more parent news

First for the good news.  My dad broke a small bone between cervical C1 and C2.  Apparently this is a common break in older people, and should heal fine without surgery.  It does mean my dad will have to wear a neck brace for up to 12 weeks, which is a nuisance, but not painful.

I hang up from sister, who has been at the hospital with my dad.  It’s my friend Pam.  She is at another hospital with our friend Shari.  Shari’s mother just died.  It was unexpected.  The funeral is on Monday.

Those of us with living parents are lucky to have them.  They have seen us grow up and in some cases, have seem us become parents to our own children. It is sad for the survivors when our parents pass, but less sad if they didn’t suffer, and left this world being loved.

None of us want to watch a person break down.  Or see a once vital loved one become trapped in his/her own body.  Or lose the ability to fully focus on the life he/she is living.

The end of life comes in many ways.  It should never strike someone who hasn’t had the chance to live a life.  But once we start to approach 80, we know that death is somewhere waiting.  It’ll come, whether it grabs you when you don’t expect it, or taunts you for a long time.  It sometimes comes booming at you with unwaivering force, and other times it quietly makes its mark when no one is paying attention.  It can be cruel in the way it dispenses its powers, or it can be kind. 

I mourn with my friend Shari and her family who lost a strong and loving woman.  And I am cautious in my joy for my dad’s neck injury prognosis.  Though I know his neck may improve, my dad's mobility and mental acuity will not.   My father is a strong man and a fighter.  Death is not going to find my dad an easy target.

As a side note:

Thank you all for you kind and supportive words.  It truly means a lot.