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Post by dcpottsmd on Sept 19, 2007 13:12:07 GMT -5
Dear poet friends,
I wanted to post this because, as many of you know, my Father and his battle with Alzheimer's Disease was my inspiration to try to write. We put dad in hospice last Tuesday because we could not clear his last episode of pneumonia. He had gotten to the point he could not consistently swallow, and was miserable. Last Saturday, just he and I were together for 2 hours. I told him everything I ever wanted to say to him. He cried and I cried...though he could not say anything to me, he knew. The three days in hospice were a gift from God...we surrounded his bed and sang everything we could think of in as many parts as we could. He even mouthed a few words. Many old friends came to sing...I had a ball. Then, on Friday, Mom and I kept vigil by his bedside all day and all night until 4:10 am when he met the Master. I was looking him right in the eyes with my hands on his chest when he breathed his last, just as "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" played on the CD player in his room...this was the least I could do for this great man. Mom and I were right there with him as he walked the dark valley, and it was rough, really rough. But in the end, he was at peace. I wouldn't take anything for this experience, though I came away a cripple.
Before he lost consciousness, he stared for hours on the ceiling. I asked him what he was looking at, and he clearly looked at me and said "Mama". This was from a man who had not put two words together in months, and rarely even spoke one. These were his last words. This will bless me and my family for generations.
Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, and help with my writing.
Danny Potts
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Post by Jonathan Morey Weiss-Namaste47 on Sept 19, 2007 16:45:15 GMT -5
Danny-so glad you were able to have the experience you did..My grandmother just went into hospice yesterday. She was vital until 99 and now, at 100 has lost most life force.
Thank you for posting and peace to you....and dad.
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Post by Sherry Thrasher on Sept 20, 2007 11:50:42 GMT -5
Danny, I am sorry to read this news but the content is inspiring. When my father passed he was in a coma and we could not say our goodbyes. You gave your father a gentle glide into his journey. You are all in my prayers.
Sherry
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Post by David Nelson Bradsher on Sept 20, 2007 21:42:22 GMT -5
Words can't tell you how deeply this affected me, Danny.
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Post by Jo Lynn Ehnes on Sept 21, 2007 17:03:50 GMT -5
That's very moving, Danny. I am sorry for your loss but do rejoice in his release to a better place. He was lucky to have you.
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Nan
EP Gold 1000 Posts Plus
Posts: 1,076
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Post by Nan on Sept 22, 2007 16:27:01 GMT -5
Danny, reading your thoughts moved me beyond words. I am so sorry for your loss. Your Dad entered the heavenly world with blessings. My prayers are with you and your family.
Nan
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Ken_Nye
EP 500 Posts Plus
EP Word Master and Published Member
Posts: 646
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Post by Ken_Nye on Sept 23, 2007 0:50:54 GMT -5
Dan, I'm a past EP'er and occasionally stop in. This post moved mel Thanks for sharing this p usl Many of us are on the edge of beginning this ex[erince with our own moms and dads. It's grueling, but it's what we owe them. Thanks so much.
Ken Nye
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Post by dcpottsmd on Sept 23, 2007 20:42:27 GMT -5
To all,
I thank you for your expressions. We just got home from Dad's memorial service. It was an amazing tribute to the man, and honored him so reverently. Many thanks for your kind comments.
Danny
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Post by Ron Wallace (Scotshawk) on Sept 23, 2007 23:07:21 GMT -5
Danny, I hope you know you were given a very rare gift. I wish I would've been allowed the blessing bestowed upon you. Peace, my friend. Ron
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Post by LynnDoiron on Sept 25, 2007 19:37:09 GMT -5
Danny, this was so thoughtfully shared. thank you for sharing. lynn
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Post by kayrawls on Oct 6, 2007 10:08:25 GMT -5
Danny,
Having been away from EP for a while, I was quite taken aback to find so suddenly here this note about your father's passing. It was for me a kind of de ja vous in its striking resemblance to an event I experienced personally a few months ago.
I cared for my mother-in-law in her home for about six months before her death in January. However, we were forced to put her in a nursing home three days before she died. I was at her bedside that morning (the rest of the family had been called and were on their way) but stepped down the hall to the nurses station to speak to the hospice worker for a few minutes, only to return and find that she had died while I was out of the room.
I had that same feeling reading your note today, as though I just stepped out of the room for a few minutes, only to return and find this time your father gone.
I don't know, Danny, whether your father ever really knew about the extraordinary poems you wrote about him or even about the profound impact he obviously made on your life, but I am sure he knew he was deeply loved. I know you are grateful that you were able to complete while he was still with you the collection you compiled of his artistic endeavors and yours. It was and will remain a fitting tribute to so large a man.
Hopefully, you'll be writing again soon--after things settle down a bit. I don't think I ever read anything of yours that didn't affect me personally in some way.
Meanwhile, please know that I'm thinking of you and miss our little talks.
Kay
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Post by Tina (Firefly) on Oct 6, 2007 11:41:20 GMT -5
You shared this extraordinary father with all of us and we have all been blessed by him and by you. Please accept my sincere condolances and know that his life has touched those who knew him through you. Blessings, Tina
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Post by MichaelFirewalker on Oct 6, 2007 14:43:15 GMT -5
I just read this, and can see how gracefully you loved him, Danny----and how full of life his last hours were----also can see you, right now, where you walk alongside him----know that you always will----nothing can separate what is truly one...
michael
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Post by dcpottsmd on Oct 8, 2007 11:29:51 GMT -5
Kay,
These words from you mean so much. You will never know how much your encourgement early on helped me in my expression. I hope to write again soon.
And Tina,
Thank you for your sentiments, as well. It means a lot to me that others have come to know something of the man through my writing.
Michael,
How beautifully you have painted for me the picture of Dad and me walking together for the rest of my life here, with his mind and memory restored.
Thank you to all.
Danny
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Post by dcpottsmd on Nov 5, 2007 1:01:28 GMT -5
Friends,
Today was Dad's birthday. My family and I went to 3 All Saints' Day services and celebrated his life again. At one of these, a broken man stepped forward at the end of the service to dedicate his life to God. This was a fitting end, and the fact that it happened on dad's birthday deeply touched us all. I hope all of you had the chance today to remember and be thankful for those saints you have known.
Danny
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Post by David Nelson Bradsher on Nov 5, 2007 8:05:06 GMT -5
Danny, thanks for sharing that. I'm glad to hear that your father's birthday took on increased significance in the form of a changed life.
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Post by Jonathan Morey Weiss-Namaste47 on Nov 5, 2007 9:08:58 GMT -5
Always good to have a reminder, Danny. Nothing is an accident. Peace to you and yours.......Jon
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Post by dcpottsmd on Nov 14, 2007 1:12:00 GMT -5
Thanks, Jonathan, for your acknowledgement. Peace to you as well...Danny
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Post by dcpottsmd on Nov 14, 2007 1:12:55 GMT -5
David, Many thanks for your comments. Indeed it did!
Danny
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