It is with great sadness that I have to type my father has passed away. On New Years Eve we left the cabin at about 2:00 after having spent the weekend there working on the siding. After
we had arrived back at home and had gotten settled the phone rang at about 9:00. It was mom. She said that dad was having a heart attack and that the medics were at the cabin. I immediately jumped in the truck and started heading south not sure where I was going.
Mom called back a little bit later and said that Dad was being taken to St Peters in Olympia. Katie quickly looked up the address and gave me some directions. Thank God that the Ancich’s were next door. Teresa and Andrea drove mom to the hospital while Steve stayed back and took care of Bailey. I met them at the hospital and did the paperwork at the front desk while Teresa and Andrea stayed with mom. Not long after I got done checking him in, the doctor came out to see us. He told us that they had been giving him CPR all the way from the cabin and had shocked him to try to get a normal heartbeat. They took him in to the CATH lab at the hospital and cleared a blockage at one of the stints that he had previously had put in. Even with all the vessels open and many different drugs, he just wasn’t pumping blood. The doctor told us that he had about a 10% chance at that point and then disappeared. It wasn’t much longer before he returned that he told us that Dad had passed away. By this time it was somewhere around 11:00pm, although the time is all kind of a blur. I called Katie and told her what had happened and we cried together for awhile. I was finally able to reach Judy and Jessica both by around 12:00am from the hospital. I also let Aunt Jean know. She had been anxiously awaiting a call. It was definitely the saddest time in my entire life, without question. I tried to reach Aunt Carol because we wanted her to know as soon as possible but I wasn’t able to find the right number for their cabin out at the lake. Katie was home and tried to find the number and was able to find what we thought was the right number. I called it and a man answered. I said, “Uncle Dick?” and the man said, “No, but I think someone is bleeping screwing with me”. Since I’ve not known my Uncle to swear at me, I realized I had the wrong phone number. I was finally able to reach Aunt Carol around 7:45 the next morning and let her know that Dad had passed away.
It all feels very surreal at this point. I’ve found myself stopping and thinking maybe this didn’t happen. I look around for some sign that it didn’t but inevitably find some piece of paper or some other indication that it really is true.
As we all sat around at my sisters yesterday, I looked around the room at each person that was there. It hurt so much to know that from now on, there is one less person to see and talk to. I am so grateful for having been my Dad’s son. I’ve learned so much from him and know that I am so much better off for being his son. He was a happy, kind, caring person that is already missed more than he could ever know. I love you Dad and I miss you so much. I hope they have internet access up there so you can read this.
Here are a few pictures of Dad from the last 5 years: http://www.jeffkatieemma.com/DAD
