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GK62

New member
Joined
Jan 22, 2013
Messages
2
Reason
Loved one DX
Country
CA
State
BC
City
Vancouver
My Dad passed away four months ago from respiratory failure due to ALS. Dad handled his illness with grace, integrity, and courage. From the moment of his diagnosis, which was 11 months before he passed, he never showed any fear nor helplessness mostly because he didn’t want his family to be stressed as to his impending fate. Up until the end, he showed such selflessness that was truly amazing.

I’m sure all of you who have or have had a family member diagnosed with this terrible disease can relate to the experiences that we all go through. The utter disbelief when the doctor asserts his diagnosis. The helpless feeling that overcomes you when you realize that there is no cure – and the equally nauseating feeling you feel when you realize that the disease is sporadic with no cause. With some terminal illnesses, there is some underlying cause, sometimes remote and sometimes fairly direct as in the case of a lifelong smoker contracting lung cancer. With ALS, there is nothing. As a result, you question your faith, question statistics, question the medical system. But, there’s nothing. No hope, no cure, just nothing. Even some cancer patients have doctors that at least get your hopes up by telling you that chemo or radiation may work – here, there’s nothing. The neurologist starts discussing "end-of-life" steps. You are simply waiting around until the end.

That’s when your mind and thoughts spin out in a frenzy. Google becomes your best friend and worst enemy at the same time. You surf the web in an effort to understand what just happened and what lies ahead. But of course, there’s no solace. You feel guilty everyday because you cannot stop thinking about what life will be like when Dad’s not there. You begin the upsetting task of getting his affairs in order and trying to talk to him about his wishes.

The deterioration is the worst part. Mostly because it’s so nebulous – you don’t notice it on a daily basis. You see it as the weeks and months go by. It’s only after the fact that you begin to notice that Dad stopped driving at this time, stopped talking at this time, and stopped walking at this time. That’s the other horrible thing about ALS is that it robs you of all your memories of that person before the onset of the disease struck. Right before my Dad passed away, I thought to myself that I didn’t remember the way my Dad was before the disease hit. Looking at pictures of him even now, it’s hard to imagine that he was in fact so full of life before because all that gets embedded in your head is the sickness.

Unfortunately for my Dad, his breathing muscles were the first to be affected and of course kept rapidly getting worse. You curse your education because you know after reading all the literature exactly how death occurs. My Dad’s was no different. He developed a minor respiratory infection which we thought antibiotics would help. Two days later, he couldn’t breathe at all without his Bi-Pap machine and so I called the Ambulance right away. Again, you curse your education because I knew what was coming … I knew that this would be the last time he would leave his home.

Two days later in the hospital, my Dad still could not breathe on his own and months earlier made his intentions known that he did not want to live life on a ventilator. He was in a lot of discomfort and the doctor advised us that the Bi-Pap was essentially a form of life support. We knew that this was not what Dad wanted. As such, we made the painful decision to have the doctors remove his mask.

We all held his hands when the morphine was administered and the mask from the machine was removed. Within three minutes, he breathed his last breath and drifted away without ever opening his eyes. The whole process, minute by minute, is etched into my brain - of course, thinking about it wells my eyes with tears every time.

Like many of you on this forum, I struggle everyday with grief and guilt, but at the same time, I am comforted by the fact that my Dad exited this life on his terms and at peace.

My condolences to all of you have lost loved ones from this terrible disease.
 
I'm so sorry for the loss of your Dad. Thank you for your eloquent words, your love is shining through.
 
GK,

You are a magnificently gifted writer. Thank you for sharing your story. Guilt is the last thing you should be struggling with; you persevered in ensuring your father died with dignity, as he wanted. You were brave and loving to honour your father's wishes. You are a testament to his achievement of raising a good son.

I hope that memories of his ALS journey will soon be replaced by those of your happy, robust and loving Dad.

Wish you peace.
 
Well put!
So sorry for the loss of your father.
 
You were very articulate in expressing your love, feelings and care for your father and about what you're going through now. I do think the best way to get through this awful disease is to educate yourself as much as possible. You did that. Thoughts of your father in his sick times will slowly be taken over by your dad before ALS. And they may switch back and forth. And remember he will live on in your heart, always. You are a part of each other. I wish you thoughts of peace and calm. Yasmin.
 
Thank you for sharing with us. You have expressed in your words what I could not say. Being a caregiver is a difficult task and I now try to reflect back to the time when my darling husband was not affected by this terrible disease. Sometimes it's easy, other times it's hard. I hope you can find your before memories and cherish them. Love and peace of heart to you.
 
I'm so sorry for your loss. I can see, even before my husband's passing, how right your words are. I wish you peace and comfort.
 
I am so sorry for your loss and can relate 100 percent to what you wrote.

Dana
 
Very sorry for your loss. You have articulated the internal struggle everyone here has gone/is going through. It is so true re thinking of the 'before' - any time i come across old photos it feels like different people in a different lifetime. Wishing you and your family strength & peace.
 
GK, I am very sorry for your loss. Honoring your father's wishes was an incredibly brave, selfless act. Please do not feel guilty. You did the most important thing you could have to help your father.

You so poignantly put into words much of what I've been feeling since my brother's diagnosis. You are so right that Google becomes your best friend and worst enemy.

I hope that in time, your recollection of your father during his illness is softened by your happy memories of him.
 
Thank you to everyone for their kind words, well wishes, and condolences. My post helped me deal with some grief I have been experiencing over the past couple of days. I hope others find some solace in it as well. I wish everybody all the best.
 
Your words are true and heartfelt. I understand all of what you went through. My prayers and thoughts are with you. May you find peace.
Lynn
 
Sorry about your dad passing. ALS is terrible. My dad passed two weeks after being diagnosed w/Bulbar ALS. My dad also stated he didn't want to live on a vent. My dad passed the same way your's did. I'm glad my dad had a choice with how it would/could end. The disease stole everything from him so quickly. No longer able to sing in the chorus, couldn't drive anymore, no more going out to eat. Everything that kept him going was gone. My dad was so strong, he seemed so accepting of his fate. He went peacefully w/ my mom by his side. We all got to say goodbye. He now no longer suffers. There is no positive outcome from ALS but if you (PALS) could have some control of the end, I think it is a blessing.

I hope you are able to find peace. I knew it's hard. It has only been 6 months since my dad passed. Somedays it hurts like hell but I remind myself that he is not suffering. You will get through this.
 
Thank you for sharing this with us...like my father too he recently passed away. I don't think there is anything worse than this illness, many doctors have said that this is the worst and cruelest it can get. I believe your father is in a better place now, he is not suffering anymore he is at peace and a big thank you to you who stood by him and took care of him. I wish the best to you.
 
GK, your post was very similar to the way my Mom's final days were. I know your pain. I am very sorry.
 
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