It has been a long and difficult time these last 3 weeks and we have until Friday to tread water waiting for the funeral service for my dad. However we have had some fun times since his passing on Thursday not least in preparing the reading for his service. The irony of this reading is that it is going to be done by a woman, my father would not even read a book if written by a woman. My mother does not want any hyms we are not a religious family at all, the service is purely for family to remember and pay tribute to all the achievements great and small of my father and to thank him for the legacy he leaves behind that may in the future help others as he has been helped on many an occasion. In his 93 years he outlived all of his friends but I am sure they are already planning their next adventure in the afterlife. My father served in the Royal Airforce during World War II he met my mother, a nurse in the Royal Airforce and after he was demobbed they married and raised 3 children plus 3 grandchildren and a great grandchild. He had many careers in his lifetime, lecturing in art in Newcastle Tech, was a manager of several department stores, had a fruit shop, a pet shop, a cafe, bought and sold antique art all his life, add into the mix his work for various tourist boards, a part time job chef in a night club and much much moreits safe to say he worked hard all his life. Throughout all this he always had time for his wife kids family and friends and would do anything for anyone. He cheated death several times, he had a massive heart attack at age 40 from which people did not think he would recover, at 50 he was involved in a terrible car accident, they did not think he would live wanted to remove his arm but they saved it put plates in and he made it. Age 60 he needed open heart surgery he died on the table they recucitated him many times. At 70 he lost a kidney and they discovered asbestosis in his lung. Nearly 15 years ago they diagnosed him with a rare type of dementia. Dementia with Lewy Bodies. For the last 15 years he has been amazing a great deal of his long life can be attributed to my mother who took exceptional care of him. His Doctor (Dr Majoram) a truly wonderful man treated his condition which presented both Parkinsons and Alzheimer type features. Years ago he was approached by the British Medical Society to see if he would donate his brain upon death so that they could study and hopefully advance further with a cure for this terrible disease. My father was one of the longest people with this type of dementia. In the end leukemia killed him he was lucid till the day he died, he knew he was dying indeed he said that morning that he was. He still retained his sense of humour asking for an apple and some wine gums his favorite fruit and sweet. There will be tears I am sure on Friday as they play Sarah Brightmans Its Time To Say Goodbye and Rod Stuarts cover of Auld Lang Syne He will be as different in death as he was in life. He thought only of others and I hope as he does that his gift of his brain can save others from the tragic debilitating condition he had. Love you dad sorry I will not be there but I am with you always.
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 00:15:55 +0000
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