Hi everyone! It is with the utmost sadness and heartbreak to be typing this right now.. My father Norman fought a long battle with cancer and kidney failure since I was a young kid. While he did go into remission for both at one point, the kidney failure did come back and he ended up back on dialysis. After a short time back on dialysis he was informed he would be placed back on the transplant list but this time he would be bumped way up to the top, awesome news! He was so ecstatic at the thought of getting another chance at a semi normal life. May of 2024 he was told he’d have to have both of his kidneys removed as one had some masses and they needed to be 100% sure it wasn’t cancerous. He had his kidneys removed, everything came back clear and he got the green light that he was on the transplant list!!! In between his kidney removal and finally receiving his transplant he had a hospital stay for a infection related complication but he kicked C-Diff’s ass and he was out in no time and getting back to getting stronger everyday. Flash forward to October 23rd 2024 my dad was at Jackson Health being prepped for surgery to receive his new kidney! What an amazing day this was for all of us, especially my daddyo! After a short time recovering from his new transplant, dad was going home! All of this felt so surreal, what a blessing it was to receive another opportunity at life after what felt like forever. As we all know though, with getting a transplant you end up on immunosuppressants and all kinds of other medications and IV infusions and strict diets. Flash forward again to March of 2024, dad kept telling us of this sharp pain he was having in his rib/lung area but he said it felt like a pulled muscle so we didn’t think too much of it until it just wasn’t going away… I kept urging him to get it checked out and just make sure it was nothing too serious. So at one of dads post transplant checks he mentioned it and all the tests were scheduled to see if they could determine what it was. After an MRI and chest X-ray, dad got the call telling him to go to the nearest ER and they would be able to start treating him. He had a lung infection. April 18th he went to his local ER but since they were not a transplant hospital they walked on eggshells so to speak in order to not damage his new kidney so the call was made to have dad transferred down to Jackson Health, his transplant hospital. Upon arriving there and getting some more information the doctor said dads treatment would take some weeks but we had hope. Dad was a strong son of a gun who had made it through so much already, so what’s the difference now? He’s got this! Or so we all thought…. Over the course of almost 4 months we watched dad SLOWLY get weaker and weaker, needing more intense care and medication, with almost no progress in sight Then one day we got the call that dad needed to be intubated as he was struggling to breathe on his own… Gut wrenching but we still held on to our hope he would recover. Still at this time, no update from the doctors stating he would not recover from this nasty horrific infection. But still, we watched dad continue to decline.. Getting extubated and then intubated again a week later and then again and again… At this point dad was losing muscle function, no longer able to feed himself, take his glasses off or do anything for himself. This was heart breaking to see… How could this be happening? But even still, we tried to stay positive for dad. Flash forward a few more days and dad was intubated again, his lungs were not doing good at all. I begged to speak to the doctor as I just couldn’t understand how we had gotten to this point and just not have any other options to help my dad. This couldn’t be the only option…. From day 1 on April 18th, they knew my dad would not survive this infection but never said a word to us about it. Oh how things would’ve been so different had we known then what we know now. 2 days after dad was intubated again the doctor called with the most gut wrenching news… It was time to make the decision on dads continued care as he would not survive past the weekend. I know my dad hated being tied down to all the tubes and machines and medicine and not being able to be free to come and go as he pleased or see his grand babies. His grand babies were his whole world and he spent his last 4 months not even being able to kiss or hug them (as much as this killed me, it was for their safety as dad had picked up some contact infections during his hospital stay) Another round of labs was ran and the doctor said we had a couple days to come together to decide what we wanted to do moving forward while waiting for the results… 2 days later we got the results and it was confirmed, dads body was shutting down as he now had multiple infections and absolutely no immune system to help him fight this stuff off. He was getting transfusions, the strongest antibiotics and nothing was working anymore. Dad was tired, his body was exhausted and he was ready to finally rest. So on July 12th surrounded by his 3 most beloved girls (his mom & daughters) we held his hand and gave him all the kisses in the world as he took his final breath. 6:33pm my dads fight was over & he was finally free. Free from all his pain and suffering. My dad was an amazing man, always coming over to help with house projects, play ball with kiddos, or even pick up and go on a day trip to the Keys or to go find our N. FL property, he just loved soaking up as much time as he could. He really was at his happiest when he had his grand babies around. I’m sure as you all can imagine, a 4 month long hospital stay and funeral services are extremely expensive so we are asking for some help in navigating this time. Even with knowing towards the end that this would be how this journey would end, we were in no way prepared for the financial burden. My grandmother is now having to bury her 2nd child in 10 months… Both her baby boys are now our guardian angels. So we are asking if you can find it in your hearts to donate, share, send prayers & positive vibes… It all helps my family tremendously in honoring my father in the way he deserves. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, we appreciate all of you!
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