Casey's Story

I never realized how precious life is until one day it really hit me. It can take a while to sink in, but it really hurts the most when you realize someone's gone. Losing my dad recently helped me realize it. He died only at the age of 51. That was young but he wouldn’t have wanted to stay in a hospital with lots of doctors helping him. We were hoping for a miracle but one wouldn’t come our way. Now we all realize how precious it is.

I always have enjoyed waiting after school for my dad to come get me from school. It was the one thing I looked forward to every day. We had so much fun in our ten minute ride, from talking to singing! Dad would sing in the funniest way possible just to see me smile. But one day as soon as I got out of class I called dad on my phone. No answer. I called him back a few minutes later, thinking he might just have been working on the farm. Still no answer. I called him quite a few more times, so I called my mom. She said, “Try one more time and if he doesn’t answer, call grandma.” I tried again. No answer from dad. I called mom back and told I had no answer, so I called grandma and she got me from school. When we got to my house, dad’s truck was in the driveway, so I thought maybe he was just taking a nap. But when I got in to look for dad, he wasn’t on the couch and he wasn’t downstairs in the basement. I went back upstairs and saw him lying face up on the bathroom floor.

That is when I had the instinct to call mom back and tell her. I told her, “Dad is lying on the floor surrounded by throw up and he won’t respond to me.” Mom said, “Hang up and call 911 now! I’m just getting off the interstate!” I did as I was told and called 911. I was in so much shock! That was when mom got home. The first responders and town police officer shortly followed. About ten minutes later the county ambulance got to our house. That is when they told us to get on the road and get to the hospital and they will meet us there.

Once we got to the hospital and were in the tiny waiting room, my mom, grandma, grandpa, and I were waiting for them to bring dad into the emergency room. They still couldn’t get dad to respond on the way to the hospital. Mom and I got to see him for a few minutes and then they told us he had to go back for a CAT scan. Just a little while later they got the scans back on the computer and that is when the doctor came back with the news. She told that he had a brain bleed and there was a lot of swelling. Mom and I were in shock! Mom said it was almost as hard as losing my older brother. Not long after the news, my sister and the rest of my family got there, and we told them what had happened.

Shortly after we were moved up to the adult ICU, there was a special room we got to stay in. After we got moved up there, the social worker talked to my mom and sister. I just couldn’t get myself to go in the room and talk to her. Then I had to go in because they asked me if I would be comfortable talking to Child Life. I told them yes and they had my sister and I go into the room next to ours. Then they explained everything to me in much calmer terms so it made much more sense. They let us pick out a blanket to lie on dad while we were there. We also got a handprint in special clay, and I got dad’s and my handprint to take with me to my ball games now. All of that was just super comforting to my sister and I. After one day I still couldn’t get myself to go back and see dad. It was hard on me especially because I was the one that had found him at home. About 11:30 on Friday night after about an hour of crying I went in and saw dad. He didn’t look any different. He looked like dad with a tube on his face, that’s all it was. I wrote dad a nice letter and colored him a picture. It was of a kitty. It looked like my kitty at home that laid on dad’s feet when he was asleep.

After about five to six days in the ICU they moved us to a different part of the hospital because we had admitted dad into hospice care. So they moved us to Younker 7. About an hour after we left ICU, a couple of friends came and visited me. I got to finally leave the hospital and see the outside world a little. After I went home I went straight to bed. I was so thankful to sleep in my own bed. My mom called around 4:30 in the morning on February 15, 2012. She called to tell my sister and I dad had passed away.

We then had to start planning for visitation and funeral. That was very tough process on mom, my sister, and I. But we got through it. We had visitation on February 19th and the funeral was on February 20th. There were a lot of people at both the funeral and visitation. But we know that many people were friends of dad’s and many people knew and respected him. The funeral was the toughest part. We just wanted him back so much, but nothing could change.

So his life was in the hands of time after the accident. He meant a lot to everyone, even those who hardly knew him. He was a part of everyone, especially my sister, mom, and I. He has a special place in my heart. He will never be forgotten and he had a short life. Now think about this: do you really know how precious life is?

—Casey

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