It's Been a While...

This past month has certainly not been one for the record books. My father fell into a coma after a massive brain hemorrhage on the 28th of November which meant I had to hop onto an airplane pretty quickly. After all of the great news we have received in weeks prior of my father's cancer pretty much disappearing, we never expected this to happen. With my father being on blood thinners surgery was not an option and as he slipped further and further into the coma it quickly became apparent that he was only going to be with us for a short time. Thanks for one of my great friends from Denver, I was quickly placed onto a plane to Orlando. I bounced around Texas on transfers, but as soon as I landed in Orlando I quickly ran to the car rental counter. "No, I don't want your insurance or GPS. Yes, I know there are tolls... I grew up here. No, I don't want your insurance. Yes, I have a 1/2 million dollar policy. Give me the damn keys!" I hopped in the little rental car and made record time to Ormond Beach. I quickly turned that Kia Soul into a race car... just don't tell my mom.  I was only able to spend a few short hours with my dad and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Knowing that you have control over someone's life (literally) is horrifying. I kissed my dad goodbye and walked with my mom while the nurses began the process of shutting down his machines. The next half hour we were entertained by my nephew (who is 15 months) while all along we knew what was happening a matter of feet away. As I was on the phone with my dad's long time dispatcher (my dad was a trucker for 30 years) the nurse walked up to me. We walked into the waiting area where she told us the details. He went peacefully and fast, which is all we had hoped for.

My Parents

I decided to spend the next week and a half with my family. My brother-in-law was cruising back to port (he is in the Navy and had been away for a while) and jumped in the car so he could drive down to be with us. My nephew was very entertaining and was probably the best distraction to have at that time. We made all of the arrangements that we needed too fairly quickly and helped my mom with some things that she needed to have done around the house. Though the week passed fairly quickly, we found out that my father was being honored by his company of 19 years by having his truck number retired. For those who don't know, this is something that doesn't happen and with Heartland Express my father would be the first. My father's dispatcher and boss headed down to New Smyrna to present us with this wonderful plaque which is now hanging for my mom to see everyday. Like I told Dan (my dad's boss), we are probably doing a little better than some other people that have lost their parents because of our dad drove for so long. My sister, mom, and I say it's like he is on the road again. I'm sure that my dad is sitting in that big rig in the sky watching over us everyday and I know when this motorcycle is running again he will be there right along side me.

Rockabettie