Beating the Odds

All your life you have been beating the odds.  At birth you spent the first year of your life in the hospital only to get stronger and live a pretty normal childhood with the exception of your asthma. At 40 you had a stroke, only to get the therapy you needed to make a full recovery in less time than they had expected, at 45 you were diagnosed with beginning stages of Kidney failure  which stabled out until around age 55 and at 57 you had a valve replacement, a surgery no one in medicine thought you would survive.

After the stroke you were able to lead a normal life working for the city and taking care of your family. You watched a son go to war , a daughter have your first and subsequently two more grand children one of which has remained with us even after you passing. She idolized you dear and she thinks of you as the dad she never had. Apparently you had a talk and she chose to respect your wishes and stay with me.

Even after the kidney diagnosis things remained stable for so long that I forgot it was an issue. Then came dialysis and heart surgery It has been a year now since your valve replacement; when I sit back and take a look at all this now, it strikes me that maybe you were struggling longer than you wanted anyone else to know.

I can not imagine the anxiety that one must feel in a do or die situation. You know my nurturing ways. I always want to make it feel better. The night before your surgery when I stayed with you I felt helpless because there was nothing I could do. Again you beat the odds, but it would be the last time. RIP LOVE