Lost my dad to Leukemia
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| Tue, 01-08-2008 - 9:22pm |
I posted a few times in December, after my dad was diagonosed with Acute Myloid Leukemia. He was diagonosed for a total of 20 days before he passed away on the 22nd of December. Luckily, I had just come back from seeing him at the hospital from the 13th through the 18th, so I got to spend some quality time with him.
The memorial for my dad was Saturday the 29th. There were close to 300 people there! They even did Taps and a 21 gun salute to honor his service to his country. It tore us all to pieces. They got the whole service on tape, except for my euglogy. :( They accidentally cut out the first part of what I wrote and said. I didn't think I was going to be able to speak. It wasn't until I woke up on Saturday, the day of the memorial, that I made my decision. I got up early and wrote it out. Of course, I padded the emotional stuff around some fond but funny memories to help me get through it. I was especially surprised that I read the letter from Dad to Mom without crying. Part of it said, "I will love you until the day I die, and still my heart will be with you."
We got my mom to sign a power of attorney and make a will: two things that my dad didn't have. I feel good that we were able to get that done as well while we were here. I've got a scrapbooker making a memorial booklet with cards, the bullets, the memorial handout, etc. My mom loses EVERYTHING, so I thought it would be good to have someone put it all in one place. We've still got to get some financial stuff together, and we also have to come back this summer and scatter dad's ashes over the sea.
Some of you will think I am crazy for saying this, but I believe my dad came to say goodbye the night of his passing. He felt at peace. He wanted to say goodbye, that he loves me, and that he was sorry. It has really made a difference in how I feel about his being gone. My dad was an admitted athiest for much of my life, only to become an agnostic for the last 10 years or so. It wasn't until this weekend that I found out that he accepted Jesus and asked for forgiveness for his sins while on his hospital bed (several days before he got to feeling really bad). I was worried about his soul, and wondered if we would ever see each other again. But, after finding out about his praying, and his visit where he felt peaceful, I feel assured that one day we will see each other again.
Thanks for the support I got here with my mom's Lymphoma (18 months remission now!) and my Dad's short but fierce battle with Leukemia.





Hello
I am so sorry ...What a beautiful ceremony for your Dad.
I'm sooo sorry to hear that your dad passed away.