October 7, 2011

When we arrived back from South America, we got a call that Joe's dad was in the hospital. He had had a colonoscopy while we were gone and the doctor had removed some polyps. Because of the blood thinners that he took for his heart, his colon was having trouble healing. We didn't think too much about it because this had happened 3 years ago when he had his first colonoscopy. We called and were reassured that things were going well and he was scheduled to go home on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be. Overnight, while we were all sleeping, Paul started having chest pains.

On Tuesday morning, the doctors took Paul for a routine procedure to see if there was a blockage in his heart. But during the procedure, his heart stopped. They were able to revive him, but his heart suffered. In fact, it was operating at a very low percentage. In spite of that, by Thursday, he seemed to be out of the woods. He was awake and talking. He seemed to be getting stronger. But on Friday, October 7th, his heart stopped again and this time, the doctors could not revive him.

When Paul was 43 years old, he had his first open-heart surgery. At the time, the doctors had told the family that he would be lucky to live 10 years. At 53, he had his second open-heart surgery. He ended up living 25 years past that first surgery and I can't begin to express how grateful we all are to have had those extra years.

Of course, I only knew Paul for 10 years, but I sincerely loved him. He was the best father-in-law anyone could hope for. Although somewhat gruff on the outside at times, I know he was a big softie on the inside. He was such a warm person that always wanted the best for his family. And, boy, did he love his family! He made me feel welcome and I so appreciated that and appreciated being part of the family, too.

It's incredibly hard to lose a parent. Even if that parent is a parent-in-law. We're learning to live with the reality that he has gone on to a better place. Sometimes it seems completely surreal that he is really gone. I fully expect that I will see him each time we go visit Illinois. Only time will heal the pain in our hearts and knowing that God and the family that went before him are with him in heaven.

This was one of Joe's favorite pictures of his dad. It was at our wedding on July 19, 2003: