Circle Of Life

I had posted back in September that Scarlett's only living grandpa (Todd's dad) was in the ICU for complications from his condition Amyotrophic Lateral Schlerosis [ALS]. At that time, he was able to make a recovery and was discharged home. A few weeks later, he was even able to make it to St. Joseph's Hospital waiting room during Scarlett's surgery (which I also posted about).

I was deeply humbled that Scarlett's grandpa asked to come to the waiting room during Scarlett's surgery especially because he wasn't even able to see her, he just wanted to be there to support his granddaughter and his son. I should mention that it is a major effort for him to be loaded into the car (he is on a ventilator, trache, a fairly large and cumbersome motorized wheelchair), and taken anywhere.

Well, he was doing stable the month of October (as stable as can be expected in the late stages of ALS), but unfortunately he recently took a major turn for the worse. He developed an infection and was hospitalized earlier this month. The doctors were unable to treat his infection. He spent a few weeks in the ICU, and very recently he was discharged on Hospice care. : (

So, while his granddaughter Scarlett is thriving and beating the odds of survival for her medical condition, he is slowly deteriorating and in the final days of his life because of his medical condition. It's the circle of life. Very sad. I lost my own father 21 years ago, so when Todd's father passes, it will mean that Scarlett will grow up without a grandpa. : ( As anyone would imagine, Todd is extremely upset, and has been spending a lot of time at his dad's bedside. If you're reading this please say a prayer for Todd and his siblings who are suffering right now watching their dad fade before their very eyes. : (