My DAD beat The Big C!!!!!

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Congrats! We had a surprise party when my mom passed 5 years post-lung-cancer.

Oh, thank you, KarenT. You seem such a sweetheart. The blog is written by little sister, eleven years younger than me. She is loyal to me, because while attending church back in the 1964, I visited for the last time before moving to Chicago (and fearful I was), asked God to "give me a little sister". Got one at 11 years of age. She was born in Chicago, unlike the rest of us, we were born in the only hospital available in Perryville, MO. I remind her, "You wouldn't be here if I had not sent that prayer up!" (LOL).

What is unique about this story, if you could back-track, one day, a year before he was diagnosed, my sister asked him, "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?" He replied, "Pearl Harbor". She swiftly made reservations, and Pearl Harbor the whole team went.

That was the underlying point in this story. What you see is the that "Welcome from Hawaii" flower stuck in his ear, when he was healthy. My dad never forgot his comrades, and visiting Pearl Harbor to him, was visiting his comrades and reliving that war, paying respect.. He wanted to let them know he didn't forget. The tour he took, looking up names, etc., what can I say? They treated him like gold. He stayed behind after the war for 6 months while everyone left. He wanted to make sure those he cared about were taken care of.

He soon teamed up with the only other survivor from his company that was shipped overseas during WWII. I remember him telling us how heart-breaking it was being stranded on that hill, surrounded by Japs, having to kill someone for his foxhole. Another Jap, that he never had in his blood to kill anything but food - dear, etc. He was only 17 when he rode the tractor, and was told there was a WWII, jumped off it, and joined. He didn't know about drafts back then. He just wanted to serve his country. His sons, my brothers followed in my father's footsteps, joining the Marines.

My father's 85 going on 86 this December 22. His 4 brothers spent time as Marines, Navy, and Army. The kids all followed. What I like about this story is, as sick as my dad got, he got right back up, and fought again. Instead - it was a different enemy. My mom and dad are the backbone in our family. I know we are destined to die, but this was one real fighter. He is a corker, a fighter, a guy with a sense of humor, and the mentality of the Marines, that never left him.

We almost lost him, but it was the Marine mentality that made me believe he was gonna control the cancer. Not the other way around. For the first time in a year, he has re-gained his sense of humor...and this time, all of us are gonna take that next trip with him. He's one hell'uva guy!


"Oh, my favorite daughter!" (Don' tell the rest of them). I give thankfulness so many times for my mom pushing me, pushing me, and pushing me after a triple by-pass at age 42. That chair I slept in, my dad has. I told her I want it back. I don't do beds up there.

If you saw a recent picture of him hooked up to that feeding tube, how frail, how sick he was...and hearing now, he's back to his old wisecracks, we're having a heck of a party tomorrow. I don't know what I would do without my mom and dad. The grandkids surround him like bees on a beehive since birth. He's the greatest. I realize it may come back, he also does. For now, our prayers have been answered. "Just give us a little more time. God." And he did.

Enjoy them - I lost both my parents in the spring of 2008 - one month apart.

KarenT wrote:

Enjoy them - I lost both my parents in the spring of 2008 - one month apart.

Thats rough, Karen. My mother will be 87 in January, but my Dad passed away 21 years ago. Honey lost his mother 19 years ago, and his Dad 14 years ago.

UrRight, THANK GOD that your Dad is OK !!!

Sorry, GALS!

I'm so sorry I didn't answer right away! Just went up there Thursday with the boys, they did a bunch of stuff for my dad. I came back the same day, was to go back up yesterday, but I had what I thought was an allergy when I went up Thursday, and it turned out to be worse after pandering around, wondering if I should go back up. I am down with a cold, hoping I didn't pass it on now, to my dad.

Anyway, Karen and Tiger, I feel so bad for you. I kept thinking about what you said here, and tried visualizing life without my parents. I can't. It really affected me.

Karen, a month apart...why?

Tiger, 21 whole years without your dad. What happened? Gosh, I saw those tears, and I bet you miss him awful.

Karen, that had to be the most horrible, depressing time in your life. I am so sorry. I really am. Survivor's Guilt is how I feel after hearing from both of you.

My mom got the flu/pneumonia. She had never been very big, and after cancer, weighed in the 80's. With the flu, she got down to 74 pounds, and just didn't have enough to fight with. Dad was 82 and pretty healthy. Three weeks later he had a cold/flu, so my cousing and I were keeping an eye on him. She called me and said he didn't sound good (I had been over there a couple hours earlier), so I ran back over. He had a burst abdominal aortic aneurysm. He survived the surgery, but we had to make the decision a week later.


I told my kids that week was his gift to us - a chance to get used to life without both of them. I saw a sign at a craft shop today that made me cry - "The only thing better than having you as parents is my children having you for grandparents."

Just hug your parents and enjoy them! Survivor's advice - clean out closets with your parents! I found things that I would've loved to know the stories of and no one to ask.

My Dad died of an enlarged heart. It was 4 times the size it was supposed to be. He was 65. He had Emphysema and Dementia. He was sick for about 10 years before he died. The last 1 1/2 years before he died, he had to be put in a nursing home. He had become too violent to be kept at home anymore. He was violent at the nursing home, too. The last time I saw him, was a few days before he died. He was actually coherant, acted normal. He told me he was going to be dead soon, and he was.

He never lived to see most of his grandchildren born, and none of the great-grandchildren. It will be 21 years on April 12th, that he died. I was very close to my Dad, and seeing him with the Dementia, was really rough. It tore me up that he had to go to a nursing home, but he absolutely didn't know what he was doing, and was very violent. When he threw a knife at my mother, that was the last straw.

Wow...that had to be so awful for both of you.

About your dad, Tiger, my uncle had alzhiemers. He started out just forgetting things. My aunt (his wife) died in 2000, and he was alone at home. His only son would check on him, and one day, toilet paper would be missing, yet he found tons of ex-lax recently purchased from a Walgreen's located about a mile and half away.

My cousin is a pharmacist, and questioned the clerks at Walgreens. He found out my uncle was walking to the store, along a busy highway, stocking up on the Ex-lax that he didn't even need.

He was placed in a community type nursing home, where he could live independently. That didn't last long. I think he was reliving the war, he actually tried to choke a nurse! Totally out of character prior to this disease. It's awful to see someone go from the most humble human being to almost a murderer.

He was then transferred to a facility that housed alzhiemer patients only. Oh, it was so awful to see these patients going through the disease, when we visited him. Most were trying to climb the beams, some were tied up in their wheelchairs...he, thank God, did not suffer much longer after that, passing away two years after my aunt.

We did have him up in Michigan for several months during the summer before he went in the independent living center. He would take a shower and come down with his dirty clothes folded military style and stand at attention for my mom to take them away.

He was found sitting in the family kitchen area on the floor, shaving his face. My mom then knew he needed special care...but it wasn't until the Ex-lax ordeal, my cousin realized he should not have been living alone.

Thanks for your advice Karen. My parents showed all of us kids everything we needed to know, like stories behind what's kept in the cedar chest. Each child/grandchild have their very own albums from their early days to our early days, to the grandchildren's. Over the years, albums have been added...

I hadn't gone up there as much as I should have the past few summers, especially (they traveled in the fall and spring), but used to go up there every weekend before. Now I am riding up there with my younger sister every chance I get...except we have to be very careful about colds, etc. Until his immune system comes back.

But, for all you both have said, when I went up there Thursday, it just made me appreciate both parents even more. I used to tell everyone how I thanked God for having such healthy parents at such an age..but how quickly I realize, you can't take it for granted, and how really precious they are.

The first thing my dad corked out, after I noted to him how much better he looked was, "Yeah, just got done mowing the lawn, greased my tractor, poured oil down the big generator box ouptside, and filled up the water softner in the cubby hole. Took down my flag pole for the winter." Yeah, right dad. Bullshitz, that's how I know he's getting better.

Of course, he did get out of his chair to follow the grand-boys around, making sure they did all that under his supervision.

I was rubbing his feet, and asked him why he didn't have his new tv on. He said, "Oh, I got sick of watching that thing, I do a lot of reading." Just as he said that, a few seconds later, the two kids came in, unaware of what he told me, and plopped a playboy magazine down on his end table...said, "Hey Paw, we brought you something to look at when you get bored."

My mom asked how dirty it was, and my nephew said, "Well, we can always paste a fishing magazine cover over it, Gram."

His blood pressure has been pretty low, so the boys thought that would bring it up. LOL