Jake

"But this could be a bad year for the family. And that's where the coping really hits home. See, her oldest 2 daughters, both in their 80s, are watching their husbands' declining health. It's likely both husbands will not see 2009. One for sure, the other it's hard to say."
~From 'Passed' - February 23, 2008.

Last Wednesday morning, I was thinking back over the latest "weekend that wasn't" and was thankful that for a couple hours on Sunday afternoon I'd gotten a chance to honestly kick my feet up, lay back on the couch and RELAX. It had been a while and I figured it would be a while longer before I could do it again. It was while I was riding the train to work that I realized I should've done one thing that Sunday afternoon: Visit Uncle Jake in the hospital.

Uncle Jake's been sick for a few years, had a lung removed because of cancer, had a brain tumor removed, and gotten over various illnesses in between. He'd always been strong, but the cancer was back for round 3 and not many people make it through 3 rounds of cancer. For the second time in 2 years, the family was called to his bedside, and this time people knew he wasn't going to make the recovery he did the first time around.

I visited with him the first time and he was so thankful that people were visiting. It kept his spirits up, even when things looked awful for him. He held my hand tight the entire 90 minutes I visited with him. I even sorted out the problems he had with the portable DVD player his grandsons had brought in so he could watch videos of his favorite hymns.

So, there I was on the train thinking to myself: "I should've gone in." I decided there and then that going in at 8 at night was acceptable. I could go in after work. Of course, being Wednesday I knew it would be next to impossible, so I might cut work early to get in an see him. It was decided.

When I got to work and opened my email, the message at the top was from my wife, titled "Uncle Jake."

Uncle Jake passed away last Tuesday night after drifting into a coma earlier in the day. His breathing had slowed to a halt and within moments he was gone. He leaves behind 4 children, 13 grandchildren and a handful of great grandchildren. His funeral was today.

I never got to see him again after the funeral in early March. I'll miss him.