The past year has been a rough one. Each year I seem to go into the next one thinking that the previous has been so tough that the upcoming just has to be better … lol … what a joke. This year has definitely surpassed my previous. I lost my dad to stage 4 colon cancer this year.
My dad was a very proud, hardworking and caring man. He hadn’ t always been active in my life as a child but as an adult he more than made up for his past indiscretions. He went over and beyond to take care of me and be there for anything I needed when I went through a divorce and was working hard to take care of myself and two children. He came into my life and was just the blessing that I needed. I could not have made it through those dark days without him.
Lessons from Daddy
By: Christy attempt to address it now but you can look for more of my opinions on this later.
For several years( about 5) my dad had been feeling a decline in his health. He was tired, blurred vision, achy, etc … I would often try to push him to go to the Dr. but he always refused and wanted me to find a home remedy to get him over it. He’ d feel a little better for a short period and then feel the continual decline a little harder.
This cycle went on for years until he eventually landed in the emergency room. Dad had continued to work and do his daily activities including cutting several family members grass weekly with little to no complaints. This left most everyone around him unaware of the true pain he was in.
Sharing my experience is emotional, but I do think that the message is important, so please bear with me while I try to get it out on paper to share with you.
I don’ t think there are many people out there who actually enjoy having to make a trip to the physician’ s office. I know I sure don’ t and it was the same for my dad. Unfortunately for my dad it wasn’ t just the dislike of the visit but the pride and the stress of the financial burden that many feel when making a visit to the Dr. He had insurance but as with many the stress of deductibles and co-pays was an added deterrent to him making the visit.
The healthcare system is certainly flawed, often leaving those who work and pay for healthcare being the very ones who can’ t actually afford to receive care and treatment. This subject is so lengthy that I won’ t even
During the visit to the emergency room( in which they kept my dad for testing ect …) is when I received the news that my dad had very advanced stage 4 colon cancer. The physician informed me at that time( which was April 2015) that he didn’ t expect my dad to make it to see Christmas that year. My head was reeling, I didn’ t know what to do or think. I didn’ t want to tell my dad because I was afraid that he would give up and I wanted to believe that it was all a bad dream and couldn’ t possibly be true.
Eventually I did tell my dad of the physician’ s prognosis and much to my surprise he didn’ t give up! He didn’ t have any thoughts of giving up, just fighting! I was so glad. We ended up making a couple trips to different specialist but neither would take my dad on as a patient because of the advanced stage of the cancer. We were basically told it was hopeless. Dad, being