My time in West Virginia

[pharoh]

Well I arrived down to West Virginia with very little problem. I drove straight through and mad a total of 4 stops the entire trip. I will have to say that West Virginia is the most beautiful state I've been to, and I would live there if the work was available. You couldn't find one bare spot on any of the mountains, and all you could see is trees. Driving sucked though cause of all the up and down shit, my ears were popping like mad.

I didn't get to do much sight seeing though. Thats not what I was down there for. I was down there for my Father and my gramps. I haven't seen my grandfather on that side of the family for probably 20 years. I have fond memories of him and I as a child sitting on the bed eating cheetos watching TV. I remember the whisker rubs he gave me and I remember him doing the claw on my tummy. It's really kinda kewl to be so young and remember these things, and I was totally not prepared for what I had seen when I met him again

I walked into the hospital room to see basicly what is a shell of a great man. The closest thing I can really have you picture is a man that was taken from a extermination camp that the nazi's kept the jews in. The man was being fed from a tube in his stomache and was forced to where diapers. At first I was frightend, I will admit, but the man still had a twinkle in his eye, and I immediately warmed up to him. It was hard to see him in that condition. We as humans don't really take into fact our own mortality untill we are forced to, and thats when the shock sets in.

Well I did meet my uncles for the first time, which was a treat in itself. I will use another picture as a refrence. Picture a couple vultures over a corpse. They were to involved in the fact they were getting an inheritence then the dying man they were sitting next to. One broke into his house and found that my gramps had 39,000 dollars in a box in the form of 50's and 100's. Well I should say that was the number given to us by him, I have no doubt in my mind there was much more money. So they cornered my father and forced him into making decision about splitting the money 3 ways, but my dad told them any bills that were not covered by his insurance they all 3 would have to pay for. I smirked at them cause there were gonna lose some of thier money......Fucking parasites.

One uncle I almost threw out the 4 story window. The day before the incident he let my grandfather smell some coffee. So the next day he brings in 2 chocolate chip cookings and puts it in his hands for him to "smell". Lets think about this for a minute. Your being fed Ensure through a tube inserted into your stomache for the past two weeks. Someone hands you a cookie....whatcha gonna do with it? Okay heres the slight problem, my gramps has a cancerous tumor on his laranyx that is blocking 95% of his breathing. Directly beneathe the Tumor is a Trache tube. So the cookie got devoured and lasted about 30 seconds before he started choking. I reeled up and out of my chair arm cocked and ready to explode, but refrained from hitting him because he was directly above my grandther wiping the cookie and mucus from his face. See my Grandather also has bronochitus (sp?) and they have been suctioning the mucus into a container, in 4 days they had to empty the container it was being sucked into, and over half of it was mucus, the rest spit.

I appologize for being graphic, but I am trying to the point accross of how ill my gramps really is. He can die at any time the doctors said.

The last day of my stay there my father and I went to the hospital around 6am, I was spending 14 hours a day in there and we were leaving after we seen him. Anyways, he was wide awake and alert and very happy to see us. That was when I got the most quality time with him was when it was just my father and I. We gave him alittle coffee on what I could best describe was a sponge loli-pop, which he loved. he want me to help him sit up and I assisted him. He sat up with me rubbing my arm and squeezing my hand. He can't talk well but, but can say yes and no clearly. I talked to him and gave him a short thread of my life, how I graduated college and work in the computer field and how I almost was married. I talked with him as listened intently and hugged me and told me how much he loved me, He even tried to do the claw on me, which was great cause he still has some fight left in him.

They had to move him to another room on another floor, and thats when we left, we told him we would be back, but figured we did not want to upset him cause we were leaving. I write this now tears in my eyes, cause I know that this will be my last time seeing him on this earth. But I will cherish him in my heart and will always love him. My only regret is not seeing him more often.

[Guest Megalicious]

[mallochai]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

what she said. It's always hard to realize what life really does to us in the end sometimes. Be strong, Al. Even if you didn't get to see him more often, at least you shared good things with him in a time when he's counting the good things he can have.

[Msterbeau]

You have my sincerest sympthaties Alan. I'm glad you were able to visit with him one more time.

[Brenda Starrr]

=(

[pharoh]

Thanks for the Support guys, I appreciate it, I really had to get it off my chest

[slingerlandstyx]

Don't forget, you can always give me a call. Even if I'm at work, I can still talk while I'm on deliveries.

[pharoh]

Well the time has come for me to make my trip back to West Virginia. My gramps passed last night, and I am leaving tommorow morning. I want to thank you all who have been there and been supportive of me in this pressing time. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart

[ManicQueen]

[Homicidalheathen]

I noticed when the chips are down, all people really want is the simple things. You so take for granted being able to eat a chocolate cookie. Get over those few extra lbs, you know?

I am sorry about all this......that sounded very traumatic.

Glad you were there at that time....it was destiny.