Part 4

He and I certainly had our ups and downs through his whole sickness, but I will tell you what. There was a point in the process where he became this person I think he used to be before I knew him. He was friendly, enjoyable, funny, and kind. He wasn't angry anymore. If there was conflict in our corner of the world, he would say it wasn't worth it. I will say, he was on medication for depression. Who wouldn't be having lost their job, all income, brand new car, and health? My Dad was so great through his illness. He never wanted to be sick, he never complained about it though. And, as much pain and misery as he must have been in, he handled it with such grace. The summer before he died, my brother came home to help. There is a BUNCH of drama here, and there are so many things we all went through during this whole time that I could write a book, but I will only highlight. I truly believe that my dad waited to die so that he could see Eric again. My dad was pretty happy with Eric around and I was relieved because I had been doing the bulk of the care for a year and a half. It was nice because Eric was there for Christmas. Ryan was born that year right before Christmas and I named him after my Dad, Ryan Thomas. I think my dad enjoyed that. One of the last pictures I have of my dad is that of him holding Ryan as a newborn. I remember I didn't take that many pictures that Christmas b/c I was tending to Ryan and I was also in denial at this point that my dad would die. After all, they had said 6 months, and it had been over a year and a half. I thought he was going to be the exception.