We found out he was sick
We found out he is about to have his 4th primary cancer last April 2018
We also knew things aren’t looking good (health wise)
Yes I am also talking about my Papa (Maternal Grandfather)
Engineer Antolin Vitug Paule aka Kamagong aka Sturdy aka our Papa
We also lost him last Year 😦
August 7, 2018 7:20am
But in order for you to understand the pain, let me take you to July 28, 2018.
We just came back from all the wedding festivities. My eldest cousin got married. Everyone was so happy. Papa got to walk her down the aisle (after all, we all knew she has always been our Papa’s favorite)
So imagine another shock that Papa’s BP is not good. We went to where he lives, had dinner with him but that moment I was already feeling unwell to see his condition. He was not my Papa anymore. and I cannot bear see him like that. It was hard for me seeing him like that.
My Papa has always been our Glue, the one who binds us. He always wants his family to be together. Even though we don’t live with him or even near him, Just one call, we would all rush to him if he wants to see everyone.
And that moment, I didn’t feel good anymore.
Sunday Came he was rushed to the hospital and the doctor ordered he be placed in the ICU. Thoughts came rushing. Why? He wasn’t unconscious. Why was this happening. 😦
Days passed then came August 3, 2018 (Friday) midnight, I received a call from him. I immediately answered but no response. My heart skipped a beat as I try to contact him again, but he wasn’t answering. I waited a few seconds, then he called me again, I answered. His voice was too frail, he called my name and he was looking for my mom. I immediately went down, to give the phone to mom. They talked a bit and ended the call.
Had I known that would be my last conversation, I would’ve said so many things to him. The next day Mom woke me up at 8:00AM to drive her to the hospital. Papa just had his first Cardiac Arrest but was revived. That was the longest car ride I had to endure.
Saturday came, around noon. I was driving Mom back to the hospital. We were almost near when we got a call from my Ate. The first call was calm, she asked where we were, we said we are almost near the hospital. But she called again, she was crying, they were trying to revive my Papa.
My heart sank, I was trying to calm my mom but my inside was killing me. When we arrived, told my mom and sister to go down first as I had to have the car valet parked. When I went down, I immediately ran to the elevator, which was my worst and longest elevator ride, and headed straight to the ICU.
Some relatives from the province are outside. My sister was also outside, told her to stay there. I opened the first door, saw my ate, she was crying while talking to someone. I knew things are not going okay. Went thru the 2nd door then took a peak at my Papa’s room and saw he was still being revived. It was the first time I saw something like it. It was really painful.
He was revived a few minutes later. It was a long 12 minute of our lives.
I had to be the one to break the bad news to my Tita (Mom’s sister) who is on her way but traffic was really bad, and she was the one driving. Had to tell her calmly to drive faster and make her way to the hospital.
After that phone call, my mom, tito and tita are all contemplating whether or not to tell our Mama and when decided, again I had to be the one to collect her from the room.
When Mama finally saw Papa, my heart just burst into tears. Mama didn’t want to leave Papa’s side. We were outside as ICU won’t allow us to be inside all at the same time.
As I make my way inside and stayed with Mama, nurses were shouting something and I knew something is happening again. Raced outside and asked My Mom and the rest to come back in as they are again trying to revive Papa.
My tita arrived after they revived my Papa again. We were now approached by doctors to make a dreadful decision. A decision that we already gave our parents (titos and titas) to decide.
As painful as it is, they already made their decision not to revive him if he had his cardiac arrest again. Decided to spend the night at the hospital.
It was the longest 3 days of our lives. He was transferred to a regular room. We prayed, we cried, we laughed, we waited.
Always had to be STRONG. it was hard.
People kept telling to be strong. but I guess I can’t. I had to find a medium to help me get through this. Writing helps.
..to be continued..
The Journey to a Better Tomorrow 