A Jeep In Summer

Stories, Info, and Update

Thanks to lots of people for the prayer and support.

My dad died quickly, which is what he wanted. He wasn't suicidal, but did not want a long painful process.

This latest story starts a week ago with an incident at the liquor store. He passed out and would not let the medics take him to the hospital.

When my sister was unable to reach him on the phone last Tuesday she went to his house and found him on the kitchen floor. He again refused to go to the hospital. Finally she was able to get him to his living room couch. She went to buy him some strawberry ice cream and left him with a glass of water and his cigarettes in reach.

A friend of his went to his house on Wednesday, and called my sister when he was unable to get Dad to the door. They eventually called 911 and my dad was admitted to the hospital with internal bleeding from his esophagus, some sort of blood infection, a urinary tract infection, an e coli or a staph infection, and acute renal failure. At that time he was not responding to questions or statements. The ER gave him three units of blood and he started getting a little better.

I arrived in Gadsden in the very early morning hours of Thursday and went straight to the hospital. He was still in the ER and not coherent.

After several days of hanging out at the hospital my sister and I decided that I should go home to NOLA, work hard for a couple of days to get things ready to be gone from my classroom, and possibly drive back to Gadsden on Wednesday. I touched my Dad on the shoulder and said, "Dad, I'll be back in a couple of days" and drove south through Sunday.

That night his blood pressure dropped rapidly and his breathing slowed and faltered and finally stopped. My sister and her husband were with him.

I worked on Monday and drove back on Tuesday.

I am still figuring out how I feel and what I need to write. I am home in NOLA facing one more day of school before Christmas break and a grading frenzy that will last through the plane rides to Palm Springs, CA and extend into Sunday.

This is one of my favorite messages so far: "Just know that he accomplished great things while he was around! He gave us all a Mike Hardie! "

And one of my kids texted me today: "We miss u mr hardie! Hope u and ur family are doing ok!"

Posted by mike at December 18, 2008 7:19 AM