Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Dad Never Saw True Grit

Ten years ago today Dad got out of intensive care eight days after having a lung removed. It was a tough week, with several crises, but he was feeling good the day he moved to a room at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. He even got out of bed and walked a short distance. He realized then that life was going to be difficult with one lung. I told him that John Wayne made True Grit after he had a lung out, and Dad said he'd never seen True Grit. I told him I would get a copy for him.

Dad was looking good, and I needed to get back to work, so I headed back to Southern Illinois on the 23rd. I shot down to St. Louis, over the bridge, and stopped at Fairview Heights to shop at Best Buy. I found a DVD of True Grit and hit the road again. Just a few miles down the road, Susan called me and gave me the bad news. It was this little guy's fifth birthday.


That makes it easy for me to remember one birthday. Well, Isaac, Grandpa didn't mean to die on your birthday. I will have to get another copy of True Grit and watch it with Isaac one of these days.
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3 comments:

  1. MerleJuly 23, 2015 at 5:50 PM

    That was a sad day, especially after he seemed to rally.

    Merle

    ReplyDelete
  2. David aka True Blue SamJuly 23, 2015 at 9:59 PM

    We thought he had it beat, but he gave it a good try.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Joel (@Stranded Tree)July 23, 2015 at 11:23 PM

    It's tough getting that call after a ray of hope. With this story, although a sad one, it sounds like you're turning this into something to pass on as a remembrance.

    ReplyDelete