d_douglas
01-01-2017, 10:57 PM
Well, what a start to the New Year. My Father in Law died in hospice at 1130am after a pretty short battle with cancer and a long period of time dealing with the effects of a stroke he suffered at 53. He is a special person to me. I am posting here because we often talk about our respect for disciplined, dignified human beings and to me, Lorne was just such a guy.
Some of you have heard me ramble about him - aside from being a great Dad, husband, grandfather, artist and friend, he was a gold medalist for Canada in 1956 in Melbourne. He is a unique guy who inspired a lot of people.
He is second from the right in the photo of the medal ceremony, second from left in the boat, and in his second home in front of an easel just a few years ago.
I spent New Year's Eve alone with him, curled up on the couch in his hospice room. It was pretty special. He wasn't awake and his breathing was poor, but he was stable. I chatted with him a bit, read my book out loud and fell asleep by 10pm.
This morning, the nurse told me she felt like it could be another day or two. I went home to trade places with my wife so that she could come up to spend time before all of his buddies would come by to shoot the breeze and keep him company at his bedside. She sat down and within 30min, he took deep breathes and passed away with her holding his hand.
Pretty magical. It has been a long journey for him and a difficult past few months for his family and friends. He's at rest and we are as well.
RIP Lorne.
Some of you have heard me ramble about him - aside from being a great Dad, husband, grandfather, artist and friend, he was a gold medalist for Canada in 1956 in Melbourne. He is a unique guy who inspired a lot of people.
He is second from the right in the photo of the medal ceremony, second from left in the boat, and in his second home in front of an easel just a few years ago.
I spent New Year's Eve alone with him, curled up on the couch in his hospice room. It was pretty special. He wasn't awake and his breathing was poor, but he was stable. I chatted with him a bit, read my book out loud and fell asleep by 10pm.
This morning, the nurse told me she felt like it could be another day or two. I went home to trade places with my wife so that she could come up to spend time before all of his buddies would come by to shoot the breeze and keep him company at his bedside. She sat down and within 30min, he took deep breathes and passed away with her holding his hand.
Pretty magical. It has been a long journey for him and a difficult past few months for his family and friends. He's at rest and we are as well.
RIP Lorne.