Red Sox Loving, Bird Watching, Gentle Gene
Today we lost Jon's father to esophageal cancer and emphysema. The day started with a phone call that Gene had gone into respiratory arrest. Ironically, Jon was running with some friends at Gene's favorite bird watching park, Bonelli. Because Jon was not available, they resuscitated Gene and put him on a ventilator. This ended up being a blessing because it allowed us time to get to the hospital to be with him when he passed. Gene never responded to our voices, but we were able to talk to him and pray, and be at peace. Ten minutes after the ventilator was pulled, Gene died very peacefully at 2:35 p.m. Jon and I were holding him.
God orchestrated the day, and we are grateful for His compassion towards Gene and ourselves. Gene was doing good yesterday, and was even sitting up and looking forward to getting the feeding tube so he could go back to the place he loved, The Atria Rancho Park Villas. We are grateful that Gene was hopeful and happy, and did not have to face the difficulties that the feeding tube would have presented.
Gene was able to extend his life by a year and a half by being at the Atria Rancho Park Villas. The people there loved him, and according to him, there was a string of women who came to see him this past week. Gene was truly happy there.
This is a big loss for our family, but we are blessed to know that Gene is most definitely in a better place. He is probably catching up with Jeannie (Jon's Mom) at this very moment. We told him to tell her how well her granddaughters are doing.
Sandy
