bitterbutter

William Fredrick Hahn

June 28, 1938 - February 1, 2008

My father died on Friday night.


He had been in and out of hospitals and nursing homes for
the last six months. He hated it. Just hated it.


On Friday afternoon I got a call from the most recent nursing home telling me that they had to call 911 because he was unresponsive and not breathing well.
I left work and went to the hospital. They told me I couldn't see him because they were doing tests. I went over to my brother's house where my mom and dad live to see how my mom was doing.



We got another call from the hospital. The doctor said my father was in really bad shape. That we should probably come over and see him right away. I called my sister and told her what was going on. She said she was going to come down to the hospital.


My brother, my mom and I went over. I got there first. He had a BiPap machine over his nose and mouth. It was forcing oxygen into his lungs. He was just lying there out of it. Not really awake. His eyes were open but he was unresponsive.


The nurse came in and said he was doing much better then when he first arrived. That gave us a second of hope, but then the doctor came in and said he was in awful shape. She said he had infections throughout his body. Fluid in his lungs. His blood pressure was very low. His body was giving up.


We stayed there in the ER for a while. My mom was not doing well just sitting there watching him. We were told another doctor was going to see him and give their advice on what we should do next.


We decided to go home and wait. My mother kissed my dad on his bare shoulder, told him she loved him and we left.



At this time we really thought there was a chance he could pull out of this. Mike, mom and I went and to get some lunch and went home. We called Kelly to update her on what was going on.


About an hour later Kelly got to the house. She had just went to see my father. Her eyes were all red from crying. For the next hour we sat in my mom's living room, waiting.


The hospital called.


They asked us to make some hard decisions. My father had a very strict DNR. He did not want to be put on any machines at all. He has told us that all of his life. Even in the last few weeks he told us to make sure we did not prop him up with ventilators. The hospital said the whole family could come be with him when they took him off everything and made him comfortable.


My mother couldn't do it. She started sobbing while Mike held her.
It was decided that Mike and I would go over and be with him.


When we got to the hospital, Dad was still in the ICU. We were in there when they took him off all the machines. He never came to during any of this. It was as if he was sleeping but having bad dreams. His arms and feet were twitching, moving, but he was unresponsive. We sat in there with him for about an hour or two.
The nurse came in and said that they were going to take him to a hospice room on the 2nd floor. He said it would be more comfortable there. The nurse said it would take about 15-20 minutes.


Mike and I went down to the cafeteria. We sat and ate cold turkey sandwiches. Sitting there I was thinking about how happy I was to have my brother there. He's a very strong and kind man. The family could not have gotten through this without him. I have to remember to tell him that. Althought I am SURE he will have a smart-ass response. Even more reason to love him.


We went up to the hospice room where my dad was. It was much nicer. They raised the back of the bed so he was in more of a sitting postion. That was making it much easier for him. He really appeared to be much more at rest and peaceful. He wasn't twitching and he just looked more comfortable. He was in a deep sleep.
Mike and I sat there with him for about an hour. Mike held his hand and told him he loved him.


The time between which he took breaths became longer and longer.
Finally...quietly, he just stopped.


I looked at Mike and then he looked up at the ceiling and waved, "bye dad."

A memorial gathering of family and friends will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008 at the WOOD-KORTRIGHT-BORKOSKI FUNERAL HOME, 703 E. MAIN ST., RAVENNA, OH