my dad is gone

[karenlene]

 

Got a call that my dad wasn't doing well again and my mom (his ex-wife) said she was going up there to sit with him, i figured id stay home bc my sister was out and wouldnt be back til late and my stapdad was coming in from work which would also be late, and we have a dog and cats that needed to be fed and stuff, but my mom said " karen i think you should go." i was reluctant bc.. im not sure why tbh, maybe my selfishness of just not wanting to go and wanting to stay home along with seeing him like that not hardly waking up and trying to get him to eat and drink and getting hardly any sleep in the combination - but i got ready and we headed on up to the VA and planned to stay.  I think i saw some tears in his eyes. i hope not. i really hope it was just like from where you wake up and your eyes are watery, he could barely open his eyes though, but he looked at me when i finally got his attention.

i was woken up from the TV being on, and being sore from laying in the reclining chair but im glad i was awake, bc i put the cover over my head to keep the TV from bothering me, and heard my dads breathing which was at 40 breaths a minute all day, stop suddenly. For a split second i thought it might be a sigh or a yawn, but i think knew what it really was - i turned around placed my hand on his arm and i saw my mom standing there on the other side of him and she said his name "Chris?" she held his hand. I said "Dad?" and his eyes were so wide, he hasnt hardly been able to open his eyes the past few weeks and it was weird to see his eyes so large and wide, and he drew in two more breaths and he was gone. all the while i was telling him i love you i love you, over and over because i found out the hearing is the last thing to go, and i said  "i love you, i love you so much, you're my favorite" but i love my mom and dad the same so idk why i said that. at that time i think he was already gone. my mom was crying but i didnt, not right away i felt weird and then nauseous, i was by the window and i think i got up at that moment after my mom went to get someone i dont remember much other then i held his hand after he was gone and his eyes closed a little bit, my mom kissed him on the head and i couldnt look at him directly i just said, i love you over and over i couldnt think of anything to say, but i did finally look at him and i stroked his cheek. ive never seen someone die. didnt think id see my dad go. not in 1 million years. but im glad he wasnt alone. i think i got really upset and realized he really was gone when the head nurse came in and he said "Morgue" as in bring him to the morgue at some point. i felt his presence all day, or maybe it was me just missing him, my twin said the same thing that she didn't feel he was truly gone.

we knew this was going to happen but.. this is my dad i never actually considered it was going to happen. ive been getting really weak in the knees and arms since his passing.

me and my mom didnt hardly speak on the way home but we came in my sister was laying on the loveseat crying and she told me that the social worker informed her of dad's passing thinking she was me. i felt terrible that she had to get the news that way. she even asked me earlier that day "do you think i should come up" i told her i wasn't sure this time, but she tried to reassure me and herself i think that he would pull through like last week. i really just didn't want to bother her happy day with her bf and his daughter.  i laid down to sleep but it was hard, didnt seem real, like should i really go to sleep? or what. but i did eventually.

i told my sister as soon as i woke up i said " i had a dream about dad" and i told her what it was about, then she said " so did I" so she told me what it was about, but she was dreamt about him before she knew he was gone, this is what she told me.

(my sister was at home asleep, and i tried to call her then i think i called my stepdad and idr who else my mom called and.. well anyways, the social worker called her thinking she was me, and my sister thought it was a joke when she said "im so sorry about your dad" and i cant imagine how my twin sister felt, the lady on the phone realized she hadn't gotten the news yet and that she was speaking with the wrong person and even thought she had the wrong family for a moment.)

The dream she told me was that she saw him and he was in an old hospital ward, one of the big open dorms, it was dark with high windows and golden sunlight coming through, and our dad was standing tall and proud in his USAF blues looking at her, and he was young again and she said "he looked so handsome" and she told me she was talking to him he was looking at her in a way like "what's wrong?" and there was a door behind him and he kinda nodded at her and he started going to the door she said "dad! where are you going?" and at that point she was woken up by the call. i was really in disbelief when she told me that but i believe her, she wouldnt lie about something like that. ever.

i had a dream too but mine was gloomy and this was after i came home to try to sleep, i was in a corner the room was dark and the only light was from a TV coming from a low position, my dad had already passed and he was in a bed, his hair was more grown out and messy. Elvis Presley: Blue Christmas was playing on an old record player and this black cat comes out of nowhere and sits on his chest and brings him back to life he raised his head and looked at me, i think i said "dad!! youre okay!" and he said "hey"  and something else but that's all i recall. mine was definitely more of wishful thinking type dream.

this morning when i went outside to get some air and to get out of the bathroom because my sis needed to shower, i saw 2 black tiny butterflies fluttering around and coming near me then i looked over towards the backyard woods when 3 or 4 of those large tiger swallowtails fly in my direction they all hovered near me for a bit and then were gone the sun was shining really bright and pretty at that moment. when i went inside it got cloudy. i wonder if it's possible that was him in some way? idk maybe wishful thinking.

i miss him, my heart hurts.

thanks for reading.

[Lisa k]

Karenlene, I'm so sorry your dad has passed. My heart goes out to you at this difficult time.I'm glad you have joined us on this forum as the other one , nobody really posts there. I'm glad your dad wasn't alone and he was surrounded by you and your mum. It's one of the hardest moments to witness but I also read that hearing is the last to go. Your dad will have known how much you love him.

I sat with my mum all day telling her how much I loved her over and over until she took one final breath. My thoughts are with you and please come here whenever you need , everyone is so supportive and kind. Join us on the daily thread if you would like,we mostly post there to vent and help each other.

Kind regards 

Lisa