thwg
Damn Good Rat
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2003
- Messages
- 1,454
For most of my childhood, adolescence, and then into my early adulthood, my father (and often my mother) my brother, and I would go to all GT home games and most away games. Even when I moved away, we would go to at least half of GT games each year including the ND game in 1997. The last two years, though, we have not been to a game together. My father's kidney and eventually heart were getting very weak and the heat, stairs, etc. made it too difficult for him to attend a game. The last really neat memory we had together was in Athens in 2000 when he somehow managed to go to the game and make it back to the car with the help of a few saints who also happened to be UGA frat boys. In the bitter cold they helped my dad up the hill.
My father's health has declined considerably the last few years. Even after he was diagnosed with kidney failure a few weeks after the game in Athens that year and eventually received a kidney from my brother in 2003, his health has not been all that good. Finally, on December 30th, my mom called me from Piedmont Hospital. She told me dad had fallen and couldn't get up for over 20 hours but they hadn't wanted to worry me. Eventually the EMTs were able to get him in the ambulance and get him to Piedmont.
His doctors had always been so concerned with the kidney that they didn't realize he had been in congestive heart failure for awhile. They also diagnosed late that day a disease with the valve of the heart. Finally, late that evening, with just my beleagured dad and I in the ER room, a doctor told us they could get the "package" a little better but it was only a matter of weeks until he died. The ER doc said, "three weeks, two weeks, one week, we don't really know but his heart is gone and the only chance he has is a heart transplant." We knew deep down my dad's body couldn't handle a heart transplant so for the next few hours he and I talked, laughed, and cried a lot. It was hard but it was good. His 65 years had been good and he had been a great dad, not perfect by any means but still great.
My dad has incredible faith; faith beyond what most folks I know and admire have. He believed and still believes God will keep him here as long as he has a purpose and then he will go to Heaven. So, after about 36 hours of disappintment and making his funeral arrangements he informed us and the doctors he was feeling much better and planned to beat this. One doctor caught me in the hall on the morning of January 1st, and said, "What did your dad drink last night? He might think he's feeling better but he's getting worse. It's just a matter of time."
Well, I tend to think of myself as a realist so I appreciated my dad's faith and hope, but I assumed he would die soon. We still had many good days and nights in the hospital in January and eventually he was able to go to the bathroom by himself after about two weeks. Then he was able to walk with a walker around the halls. Miraculously, he all of a sudden lost 20 pounds of fluid from his legs and lungs and he had some quality of life.
He came home on January 20th to live or for my mom and I we figured to die. Hospice was called and the nurses came to help with changing him. But after one visit, they said they thought he would be able to bathe himself soon. I sent an email to friends and colleagues telling them what was going on that week and told them of my three requests. I hoped he could go to church again as he loves being in church on Sundays. Next, we were hopeful he could somehow get to Destin one more time to the retreat where he and my mom have shared and made so many memories. Lastly, I prayed he could see his grand daughter, my first child, in her first ballet recital in May at the Ferst Center. He would think that was so cool to see his first granddaughter on stage at GT.
Well, he has now lost some 60 pounds of fluid. He weighs less than what he did when he got out of GT in 1963. He has been to Destin a few times; he hasn't missed a Sunday at church since February, and he saw my daughter, Grace, perform at GT in May.
If I had had faith like he had I would have asked for one more request in that public prayer back in January. I would have asked that we could all go to one more GT football game together. But I didn't ask that because I didn't think there was a chance that could occur. We considered going to Chicago together for the ND game but I think he thought the trip might be too much. He has never seen GT win in south Bend and I so wish he could have gone.
But this past Saturday, my dad, my mom, my wife, and all three of our kids (5 and under) were there in the hot sun to see the Jackets play football. My guess is I've been to at least 200 GT games with my dad in my life but this one was perhaps as special as any. And during this one I was reminiscing about early memories we had when I was a kid dressed in an engineer's outfit. I thought about my first trip to athens in 1978 which wasn't good but a good memory. I thought about sitting in the freezing rain versus NC State in 86 or so. I thought about watching Bo run for 80 yards around left end in 84 and then Aundray Broce single handedly beating us in 86. I smiled as I thought about Gary Lee running through the fog in 85 and then the stifling defense in 89. I remember a lot about that 84 season when we beat Clemson and the Fridge behind the Refrigerator Mover.
Unfortunately, I remembered my junior year of college when I was selling pizzas for a campus organiztion and watched the 4th quarter without my dad of the FSU comeback. But I had great memories of being with my dad when I was a college freshman to see the Jackets win it all in Orlando. We stayed up half the night before the game and half the night after the game. It was a memorable trip.
I had lots of memories of GT football and 99% of them were with my dad. But none beat the one this past Saturday of seeing him hold one grandson in his arms while sitting next to another with his granddaughter behind him dressed as a GT cheerleader. I didn't think I'd ever see another GT game with him. But I did. and I'm so grateful. Who knows maybe I'll see another NC with him this year. My dad believes so.
tim
My father's health has declined considerably the last few years. Even after he was diagnosed with kidney failure a few weeks after the game in Athens that year and eventually received a kidney from my brother in 2003, his health has not been all that good. Finally, on December 30th, my mom called me from Piedmont Hospital. She told me dad had fallen and couldn't get up for over 20 hours but they hadn't wanted to worry me. Eventually the EMTs were able to get him in the ambulance and get him to Piedmont.
His doctors had always been so concerned with the kidney that they didn't realize he had been in congestive heart failure for awhile. They also diagnosed late that day a disease with the valve of the heart. Finally, late that evening, with just my beleagured dad and I in the ER room, a doctor told us they could get the "package" a little better but it was only a matter of weeks until he died. The ER doc said, "three weeks, two weeks, one week, we don't really know but his heart is gone and the only chance he has is a heart transplant." We knew deep down my dad's body couldn't handle a heart transplant so for the next few hours he and I talked, laughed, and cried a lot. It was hard but it was good. His 65 years had been good and he had been a great dad, not perfect by any means but still great.
My dad has incredible faith; faith beyond what most folks I know and admire have. He believed and still believes God will keep him here as long as he has a purpose and then he will go to Heaven. So, after about 36 hours of disappintment and making his funeral arrangements he informed us and the doctors he was feeling much better and planned to beat this. One doctor caught me in the hall on the morning of January 1st, and said, "What did your dad drink last night? He might think he's feeling better but he's getting worse. It's just a matter of time."
Well, I tend to think of myself as a realist so I appreciated my dad's faith and hope, but I assumed he would die soon. We still had many good days and nights in the hospital in January and eventually he was able to go to the bathroom by himself after about two weeks. Then he was able to walk with a walker around the halls. Miraculously, he all of a sudden lost 20 pounds of fluid from his legs and lungs and he had some quality of life.
He came home on January 20th to live or for my mom and I we figured to die. Hospice was called and the nurses came to help with changing him. But after one visit, they said they thought he would be able to bathe himself soon. I sent an email to friends and colleagues telling them what was going on that week and told them of my three requests. I hoped he could go to church again as he loves being in church on Sundays. Next, we were hopeful he could somehow get to Destin one more time to the retreat where he and my mom have shared and made so many memories. Lastly, I prayed he could see his grand daughter, my first child, in her first ballet recital in May at the Ferst Center. He would think that was so cool to see his first granddaughter on stage at GT.
Well, he has now lost some 60 pounds of fluid. He weighs less than what he did when he got out of GT in 1963. He has been to Destin a few times; he hasn't missed a Sunday at church since February, and he saw my daughter, Grace, perform at GT in May.
If I had had faith like he had I would have asked for one more request in that public prayer back in January. I would have asked that we could all go to one more GT football game together. But I didn't ask that because I didn't think there was a chance that could occur. We considered going to Chicago together for the ND game but I think he thought the trip might be too much. He has never seen GT win in south Bend and I so wish he could have gone.
But this past Saturday, my dad, my mom, my wife, and all three of our kids (5 and under) were there in the hot sun to see the Jackets play football. My guess is I've been to at least 200 GT games with my dad in my life but this one was perhaps as special as any. And during this one I was reminiscing about early memories we had when I was a kid dressed in an engineer's outfit. I thought about my first trip to athens in 1978 which wasn't good but a good memory. I thought about sitting in the freezing rain versus NC State in 86 or so. I thought about watching Bo run for 80 yards around left end in 84 and then Aundray Broce single handedly beating us in 86. I smiled as I thought about Gary Lee running through the fog in 85 and then the stifling defense in 89. I remember a lot about that 84 season when we beat Clemson and the Fridge behind the Refrigerator Mover.
Unfortunately, I remembered my junior year of college when I was selling pizzas for a campus organiztion and watched the 4th quarter without my dad of the FSU comeback. But I had great memories of being with my dad when I was a college freshman to see the Jackets win it all in Orlando. We stayed up half the night before the game and half the night after the game. It was a memorable trip.
I had lots of memories of GT football and 99% of them were with my dad. But none beat the one this past Saturday of seeing him hold one grandson in his arms while sitting next to another with his granddaughter behind him dressed as a GT cheerleader. I didn't think I'd ever see another GT game with him. But I did. and I'm so grateful. Who knows maybe I'll see another NC with him this year. My dad believes so.
tim
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