May Update

June 25, 2024

Busy Celebrating

I am between Celebrations of Life: Justin's and my Dad's. More than 125 people came over the course of two hours to a local park shelter for Justin's celebration. I'm not terribly comfortable being one of the focal people at large gatherings, so the whole thing was a blur to me. Julia and her pickleball friends organized it. We ran out of beds and couches at our house. Julia and I slept in the Scamp. A soul food catering place from Madison brought in Justin's favorite foods: fried chicken, ribs, macaroni and cheese, and cornbread muffins. A large assortment of Justin's Asian snacks was also put out for people to try. The dried seafood was tried by many but liked by few. Many tears were shed, but it was also a time for shared memories and laughs. I'm finally sleeping better after almost six months of broken sleep patterns. We gave away most of Justin's furnishings and valuable personal possessions. One of those included the wheelchair van, which w

After battling a failed respiratory system for four months in the hospital, my 23-year-old son, Justin, died last night. Last week, he was driving the hospital bean-counters and back-office people crazy by having way too much fun in the hospital. He was playing video games, watching sports and crime shows on tv, and ordering Uber Eats. Then Saturday afternoon, he went code blue with rapid changes in oxygen level, heart rate and blood pressure.

With modern medicine, drugs and technology, hospital staff stabilized his numbers, but Justin became quite uncomfortable and agitated. His last words were, "Will it ever end?" Allie flew home on Sunday night, and her presence in the hospital room on Monday brought a final, brief smile to Justin's lips. He passed later that night.

I'm proud of my son for his lifetime willingness to fight for a life that was in many ways fuller than most able-bodied people. In return, he made our lives richer and fuller.

After a time for grieving the loss of Justin and also celebrating his life, I will be back, hopefully, with more adventures of my own to document in this blog. Life is short, and tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Comments

Ray said…

John, my sincere condolences. I'm grateful for you sharing your son's story through his trials and tribulations. He was a modern day hero to me.

Best,
Ray

May 9, 2024 at 9:21 PM