Limbo

Patrick's father passed away this morning at 2 AM.

For the record, he survived on his own for almost 5 days after he was removed from life support. He was a stubborn man in life and even while dying.

I was writing a post in my mind around 1:30 AM while I was feeding and rocking Griffin. It was about how my father-in-law was in limbo, somewhere between life and death and while the medical world would say that he was very much alive, life really comes in the form of the little things: a dry sense of humor, a smile that lights up when you see someone you love walk into a room, a good belly laugh, etc. He didn't have any of those things for the past 5 days and it was incredibly hard to watch the shell of a person continue to live, while the essence of who they are no longer existed. This all sounded so much better in the wee hours of the morning while Griffin ate and drifted off to sleep. I was planning on posting that this morning, but instead I sit here and write about his death.

It has been a difficult week for everyone. Being in limbo, while giving us a chance to say goodbye, has been torture. Death was inevitable, but the only thing we could do was wait. Now the waiting is over, and Patrick and his family must deal with the emotional aftermath. They will learn to navigate through life without this wonderful man. It is going to be the most difficult thing Patrick has done in his life, but I will do my best to help him through this process.