These past six months have been hard to say the least. I flew to Ogden, Utah on September 16, 2013 to be with my mother and father following his surgery. My cousin, Kyle Brown, met me at the airport and drove me to University Hospital in Salt Lake City. There I met my mom and sister before going in to see my dad.
Laile took me into the room and my heart was broken, but I was able to keep composed. Dad recognized me and his eyes opened wide and he would squeeze my hand. I kept praying for that moment my entire flight that he would know who I was when I got there and he did. Answers to my prayers were given to me.
Dad was not in good shape but would look at me and squeeze my hand. I knew that he loved me very much and was relieved that I had finally arrived to take care of Mom and her needs. It just seems like he was telling me it was okay for him to go now and progress with his eternal life. It is hard to explain, but I knew in that moment he was transitioning into his next stage of leaving us.
On September 17th, Dad was pretty much the same but on September 18th there was a drastic change in him and in my heart I knew he had another stroke. He stopped using the left hand and was so extremely agitated. The nurses and doctors never said a word, but I could tell they were concerned and that my father was not coming home.
Mom and I stayed with him during the days and spent the evenings at our trailer. Days were very long as we watched Dad go downhill. On September 29th they transferred him to the Utah Specialty Hospital in Provo. We moved our things to Russel’s home in Goshen and drove back and forth to be with Dad each day. It was so hard to see him go downhill so fast, but he had more wrong with him than we knew.
Lewis came up to see us at Russel’s on October 1st and we had a good visit. We had a meeting with the doctor at 11:00 on the morning of October 2nd. Mom and I were planning on leaving for La Sal for the weekend to harvest the garden then return back to Pr0vo on Monday or Tuesday.
The doctor came in shortly after 11:00 to talk with Russel, Mom and I. He told us that Dad had had three strokes so far and “what we saw is what we got” . It broke our hearts knowing that Dad would never get any better than what he was. Mom decided that we would go on to La Sal then let him go when we got back. A voice so strong came to her and said “why are you going to let him suffer four more days?’ She called the nurse back and said that she was ready to let him go now. They let us wait for Lewis to get there before they started preparing his body for departure of this mortal life.
Russel and Lewis gave him a blessing at 2:00 and immediately he settled down. The blessing that Lewis gave was so tender and peaceful as he told Dad that it was time for him to be released from his mortal body. He told Dad that he was a good father and husband and we were honored to be his children. By 6:09 that evening our precious father left this mortal life to begin his eternal progression. We each got to say goodbye to our dear father, grandfather and husband. I was so honored to be standing at the head of his bed, rubbing his snow white hair as he took his last mortal breath.
There is not a day that goes by that my heart does not ache to see my father. I miss him so much and on the 1st and 2nd of each month it is hard for me to function sensibly. I do not wish this loneliness upon anyone.
Our earthly time is so short when you think of the eternal aspect of life. I am so thankful for my father and the man that he was. I look forward to seeing him again when my turn comes to go to heaven. I am trying so hard to live a life of righteousness so I am worthy to live in the presence of those that have gone before me.
Dad, I love you dearly.
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