If you missed it last year, here’s the link to Martin Avadian’s identity crisis when I wished him a Happy Father’s Day in “Who’s the father?”
Appreciate him while he’s still here
After my father had been living in a nursing home for several years, Alzheimer’s took away so many pieces of him that I inquired about hospice care. The doctor and nurses, even the CNAs thought my concerns were premature. Still, my husband and I answered the phone every time it rang. We anticipated the call. Deep down we knew and wanted to make the most of our time together with my father. And then, a few weeks later, it happened.
Quite suddenly, one evening, my father suffered a massive stroke.
The staff was right there. The stroke was so severe that despite their efforts to revive him, within thirty minutes he was gone.
He wanted it that way. Quick.
I had always wanted to be by his side as he passed on, yet this was not to be.
Adapted from
Finding the JOY in Alzheimer’s:
When Tears are Dried with Laughter,
page 120
Brenda Avadian, MA
TheCaregiversVoice.com
