How he went...

"God saw you getting tired. When a cure was not to be,

He closed his arms around you and whispered, "Come to Me".

In tears we saw you sinking. We watched you fade away.

Our hearts were almost broken, you fought so hard to stay.

But when we saw you sleeping so peacefully free from pain,

We could not wish you back to suffer so again.

So keep your arms around him Lord, and give him special care.

Make up for all he suffered and all that seemed unfair."

-Memorial poems (Letting Go)

I was talking to my mom in the Kitchen when she got a phone call from my Aunt. She answered the phone listened and then scream "WHAT!" At first I thought someone had won a prize, then I saw her start to hyperventilate. Immediately I knew that grandpa was dead. He's been sick for a while. He was at the hospital the week before. Grandma was in Utah at the time because she was trying to fight the courts to pay for his medical bills. I watched my mom pace around the house, I watched her sob, and there was nothing I could do. Nothing I could say would stop her from crying. I know this from experience. All I knew to do was to let her cry it all out. I went and got my step dad and he came in and hugged her. She looked at him and said,

"Will you drive me to the hospital?" He nodded and I asked,

"Can I go mom?" and she said,

"We can all go."

We walked into the hospital and asked the lady at the front desk if the ambulance had arrived and she said that it hadn't yet. So we waited and watched as my sister and her fiancee and his daughter came. We waited while uncle Daren and christian arrived. Then finally they said that the ambulance arrived. They took us in the back room and asked his name and birthday. Then the nurse and the doctor walked in and said,

"I hate to be the barer of bad news, but Theron Whiting has passed." The whole started sobbing. Except for me. I hadn't really cried yet. I was more in shock. The doctor explained he had to get back to his rounds, but if we had any questions to let him know, and then he told us that the nurse would be helping us out. She asked,

"Was anyone with him when he passed?" Uncle Daren who seemed like he was just breaking inside said,

"I was." She asked him what happened... He said,

"Well he was doing fine. He was a little weak so I helped him to his bed, and then I made him some soup. After I made him some soup he asked me to go to the store to get some Copenhagen. I wasn't even gone five minutes and I left my boy with him. (He was crying now.) I got home and said dad I go your Copenhagen and then I herd a gurgling noise. I ran in there and he was unresponsive. I ripped him off the bed and onto the floor and tried to start CPR and then I yelled for my boy to call 911." She asked us where his wife was and Uncle Daren said,

"She is in Utah." Then my mom said,

"He was just in here the other day! The doctor told me that he would be fine and that I didn't need to have his wife come home. So, I told her to stay!"

She then explained to him that he did everything right. She assured that grandpa died a quick painless death. (I sat there wondering if they say that to everyone because they told me that when my dad died too. I worked though. I was happy to know dad didn't suffer.) The nurse walked out and Uncle Daren started sobbing and said,

"I promise you guys I did everything I could." We all told him we knew that and that he was so good to grandpa these last few weeks while grandma was gone... Then he said,

"Oh mom!" and everyone in the room started sobbing, but me. It still had not hit me yet. Then the nurse walked in and said that if we wanted to we could go see grandpa and say our good bye's.

... um... I continue later.