August 30, 2012
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My Dad
I want to be careful not to invade on anyone's privacy here but I wanted to say that my Dad got sick in July. A few week's later after a gallbladder surgery, he has been diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer.
He had been diagnosed a couple of years ago with Hemochromatosis which is too much iron in the blood. (Here I was so proud of my high hematocrit.
) This in turn has caused a damaged liver which is now deadly. Also, for your information, Hemochromatosis causes diabetes and arthritis. Both he has and also a number of family members, including yours truly.So, this past weekend, Vernon and our 2 youngest children crammed into a VW Jetta for the long trek home to visit. Its a long 13-15 hours in such a "tobacco can" as our family has dubbed those size of cars but it was great for the fuel mileage. Anyway, we had a great weekend with my folks and wish we lived closer.
He has lost a lot of weight since I last saw him over a year ago. Here are some photos. One of them is a picture of my Grandpa Glenn. I couldn't believe how much they look alike.
This was in March with a grandchild and great grandchild.
This one was taken Tuesday morning with Mom and our 2 youngest.
My Dad. His parents--my Grandpa Jesse and Grandma Pearl.
My Grandpa died when I was a baby so I didn't remember him, Grandma was my only grandparent for over 30 years....she passed away in 1998 at the age of 96. There is NO replacement for her, she was the sweetest grandmother that anyone could want. (Hey, if you don't believe me, ask any of my siblings.
)Another highlight of our trip was a visit to my dearest Aunt Susie. She is Mom's only sister and for whom I was named. She hasn't been well for a number of years. It's sad to know that some things will not last forever. I hope when the time comes to say good-bye that I can be strong.
Comments (8)
Wow! He sure DOES look like that picture! I noticed when we were up there the end of June that he'd lost a lot of weight. Makes that big, strong, do-anything man look so frail... (tears) I am SO glad we went up when we did.
And Susie's still so pretty
You know, it's been years since I saw her last, but I can still hear her voice and the way she says Tish. I'd love to get another chance to see her. Gonna miss her too, for sure!
kj, i know exactly what you mean by the way she says Tish. Nothing weird but definitely all her own.
How is it that you have managed to get your hands on so many old photos. Since you seem to have some, do you have any of me when I was little? Nat has one that he said he would copy but don't think that is going to happen. I don't have a single picture of me when I was little. NOT A SINGLE ONE!!!! So, would love some if you have any. The pictures you have of grandpa and grandma and any others you have, please take real good extra care of them. They are priceless and I may want to see them sometime. Were these pictures taken at mom and dad's house? Gwen
@glennbunch - Actually, Gwen, you can thank Holly for that. She took pictures of the pictures that Mom has in her scrapbook that our family made for Grandma back in '95 or '96. She then gave me her camera chip to download to my computer. I don't have copies, just have them downloaded onto my computer. What I need to do is put them on a flashdrive and get prints made. I don't think I have any of your little girl pictures because Holly just got the ones that would be in her children's direct lineage, I think. There may have been extras such as Aunt Susie when she was young and she has of my baby pictures but she didn't get any of my siblings except Pam's I think.. That was because hers was right next to mine in the album. But it is worth a try. Maybe someone could do that with the rest of the pictures in the album. In fact I think it would be a smart move to do so. You were so cute when you were little. I think our Kaity looks a lot like your little girl pictures.
would be nice if I could add them to my archives. I don't have any of grandpa and grandma. I do have one of mom and dad's wedding pictures and one taken of us when Pam was a baby. I have it in a frame and it got wet, not it is stuck . I have other pictures that have done that too. Do you know if photo shops sell anything that can unstick a picture without ruining it? Gwen
@glennbunch - I don't know, Gwen. Probably would be good to ask. I recently lost several important pictures of Vernon's childhood when they got wet. I tried to take them out of the plastic holder and the pictures wiped right off.
Hopefully his mom will still have extras. Kim
Mom just told me about Uncle Ben. I'm so sorry. He's a good man and always treated me like one of his own and a few summers, I was. I miss Aunt Tish and Uncle Ben and you guys of course. You were my brothers and sisters. You kids were fearless. Love to all. Debbie
@debbierehm - I remember that, Debbie.
Actually, our "fearlessness" was probably more of fear of Gwen and Randy. LOL They sure had a LOT of ideas of fun. Hey when I think of all those stunts, I get the heebie jeebies. My kids had better not try anything like that. Or if they did, they'd better be smart enough not to let me know. 
For example: my oldest son and his cousin "camped out" one night on the top of Harvestore silo. Both mamas nearly had heart failure when we found out. Love you Debbie.