Aside from sitting with him in the hospital during the end...
It was his last night at home and the following morning.
Dad had just gotten home from the hospital and he said he needed some things from WalMart so we needed to go out. I was there to help him because of his declining health. He drove, my daughter was in the back, the drive there was fine.
He wasn't supposed to be on his feet so he used one of those mobile scooters they have for disabled customers. He hated it. He didn't want to be the fat guy on a scooter but there he was. Anyway, we started taking care of his shopping but he wasn't feeling well. There was a bunch of stuff on the list and we still had to pick up dinner and he already wanted to go home and rest.
An employee walked up at that moment, Anastasia, and asked if we needed any help... My Dad perked up and asked her if she was getting done work soon. She said yes and he said we would buy her dinner if she helped him finish his shopping. He had me take her order down and go get dinner while they did the shopping.
While I was getting the food I was worried about Dad but I figured he was going to be ok. I got back and the shopping was done but Dad looked really tired. I asked him if he wanted me to drive and he said he had it handled... He didn't. Luckily he took the back way because we were all over the road. I kept yelling at him to pull over and he finally did. We switched and I drove the rest of the way.
By time we got home he was nearly unresponsive. I left him in the car for a moment and got my daughter inside his house and then went back out for him. His speech was low and mumbled and I had to really convince him to get out of the car and come into the house. When I finally got him out of the car I had him put his hands on my shoulders and walked him slowly to the door.
He got inside and sat down at the kitchen counter... It was about 8pm. I brought everything inside and asked him if he wanted his food but he seemed to be sleeping. I wasn't going to let him sleep at the counter so I tried to wake him up enough to get him to bed but he would hardly respond... Like he would say "ok" or "alright" and then go right back to being passed out. I grabbed his arm to try to wake him up a little and he was freezing. I started getting really worried so I called my sister.
My sister immediately thought it was something to do with his diabetes and said he probably needed to eat. From about 9pm to 11pm I spent my time waking him up just enough to take little bites of fruit and sips of orange juice. Around 11:30 he seemed a little more aware but he was still mostly out of it. By midnight I took his burger from our dinner food, microwaved it, sat it in front of him, and just yelled "Dad, aren't you gonna eat your burger!?" He took two big bites (cause as a bigger man he probably couldn't resist) and went back to mostly sleeping.
I stayed at his house until 2am that night trying to get him to bed. At 2am he finally was aware enough to be fed up with my attempts and told me to just go so I did because my daughter was tired and I had to get home to my dogs. I told him I'd be back first thing in the morning. I didn't get home until about 2:30. Didn't get to bed till about 3.
I woke up the next day at about 10:30 am because I had been up so late. Let my dogs out, fed my daughter, dialed my Dad's number... No answer. Dialed his number again... No answer. 3rd time, 4th time, no answer. Tried his cell a few times, nothing. Immediately got my daughter dressed and in the car and headed over.
When we got there at about noon I was worried about what I might find so I had my daughter wait in the car at first. I went inside and Dad wasn't at the counter. He wasn't in his bed. He wasn't at his computer. His car was in the driveway. His bathroom door was open and his oxygen thingy was laying on the floor. Where was Dad?
I brought my daughter inside and did a once over of the house again. The oxygen, which was kept in the bathroom, was on so I went to turn it off and that's when I found him... He was sitting on the toilet completely stuck. He'd been sitting there all morning, unable to get up, towel rack broken, toilet paper holder ripped out of the wall, legs completely numb, unable to reach a phone, unable to reach his oxygen...
I gave him his oxygen and tried to help him up. His legs were useless at that point and I wasn't strong enough (he was over 300 pounds). Then as he was talking he was using the wrong words... "I'm really embarrassed to be in this soda!" and "Get me off of this potato!" I tried bringing a chair in to give him leverage. I tried lifting him with all my might. I just couldn't do it. I told him I had to call someone.
Called the EMTs. Explained the situation and told them I just needed to get him back into bed. They showed up and tried to get my Dad off the toilet but he ended up falling to the floor. They asked him how old he was and he said he was 19 (he was 58). They asked him what year it was and he said 2008 (it was 2013). They told me they were sorry but they had to take him to the hospital...
And he never came back.