"My Sweet Dad"

Greg's father is dieing. It's difficult to see those words in black and white. But it's reality. He went into the hospital in late December to have surgery to remove cancer. In the process, he suffered a stroke. But he still had his speech and other functions so we were cautiously optimistic about his chances of survival. Throughout the next couple of months, there was rehab, physical therapy, moving to a nursing home, going back to the ER various times, going BACK in the hospital and then a few days later going BACK to the nursing home. It's been a roller coaster, to say the least. A couple of weeks ago, or maybe it was just last week - I've lost track - we were told that the cancer was not gone and had, in fact, spread to the liver. Not only had it spread to the liver, but the counts were so high, the machine could not calculate the massive amount of cancer. With his fragile health, there is no way his body can handle cancer treatments of any kind.


As of yesterday, he is in a hospice facility. It's really "nice" if you can describe such things that way. We saw him today. They say it might be the last time we see him. But he seemed so good! It's hard to believe that his body is failing when his mind is so much in tact.


He is such a sweet man. I got to tell him that today, through tears. I told him that MY dad has a lot of really good qualities, but that Bernie is my sweet dad. He's always thinking of others. For instance, today the hospice chaplain came in and introduced himself. He asked Bernie if he needed anything. Clear as day, Bernie replied, "No, but what can we do for YOU?" And he meant it. Sincerely. The chaplain was taken aback. I don't think he's used to people asking HIM that. But that's how Bernie is. And that's his legacy. I love you, Bernie.