TWO WEEKS: that's how much time the doctors gave him. the cancer was back, and more aggressive than before. surgery was an option, but it would only prolong the inevitable. so two weeks...that's all we had. we knew it was time to take him home. family and friends came to say goodbye...and somehow dad thought it was the perfect time for family home evening. lol. he cracked jokes...told random stories...and kept asking for filipino food (no idea where that came from). and then at the end of the night, it was as if he knew what was coming...he just quietly started bearing his testimony. he got so emotional when he started "scolding" us by saying "READ YOUR SCRIPTURES AND SPREAD THE GOSPEL!" he had two weeks...and that's how he wanted to spend it.
THE FLIGHT: after getting the confirmation about dad's timeline, we worked quickly to get him home. thank you delta. hospice was set up...his hospital bed was on its way, and the family at home was making preparations for his return. we were on our way. aside from the minor setback with tsa because they couldn't believe the "indefinite" expiration date on his military id...the flight was nice and smooth. the gate agents were great. because it was such an empty flight...they let us board early. which was perfect because we needed that extra time to get him situated. once we got seated he was OUT! lol.
back home in his garage with his sweetheart. how's her swollen face?! lol kalofae. |
every night someone had to sleep next to his bed in case he tried to...make a run for it! nah. he needed help walking, and since he didn't like waiting for anyone, we literally had to sleep right by his bed to make sure he didn't get up and hurt himself. oh and by we...i mean my nephew nui...lol. he was his papa's caregiver.
one night, i remember i was on "sleeper" duty, so i got to sleep on the comfy cot next to dad's hospital bed. as i laid there...slowly drifting off to sleep, i remember tearing up a litle because i knew it was close to the end. as i wiped the tears away i felt a soft touch on my arm. when i opened my eyes, i saw dad leaned up against his bed rail and trying to reach through (remember its a hospital bed, so the bed rail had vertical bars...so imagine jail bars??? lol) to touch my arm. i could barely see his face, but when i looked in his eyes, i could tell he was trying to tell me everything's going to be ok. so i leaned in closer to him (or rather the bed rail lol), kissed his hand, and fell asleep to him just rubbing my arm. i will never forget that precious moment i had with my daddy.
excuse my fat hand lol...this was taken at the hospital after his surgery |
just some of the many visitors...thank you |
NOV 5th...8:08am: with his eternal companion by his side, and his children and grandchildren all around....my daddy DAVID MALUAE KEO peacefully left his earthly body to return back to our Creator. i will never forget the overwhelming feeling of comfort that came over me at that moment. yes...many a tear was shed..but i was happy at the same time. happy because he was free from pain, and was free to continue His work on the other side. but i was mostly happy because after 16 long years, he and jason were reunited. and i couldn't get over thinking about what a crazy reunion that must've been.
mom and dad....the epitome of eternal love |