saying goodbye

I just don't have it in me right now to write something new, but for those who visit looking for news after seeing last week's post, below is the note that I wrote on my dad's Carepages after he passed away last Thursday:

It is so upsetting to write this note, and I pray that if you are reading this you are not just now getting the news that Brad passed away on Thursday, April 12 at around 8 in the morning.

He had had so much trouble breathing the last few days, and the doctor said that his whole body was weakened and strained from the breathing, combating fever, and from the leukemia itself. Of course, the chemo also weakened him, but we were assured that the disease would have taken him even faster if he hadn't decided to begin the chemo when he did. The actual cause of his death, the doctor believes, was cardiac arrest. Apparently a nurse went to check on him at 7:30 and he said he was fine, and when someone checked 10 or 15 minutes later, he was unresponsive. They tried to revive him for about 20 minutes but were unable to.

We thought we would have more time with him, as did everyone. We are so grateful already for the outpouring of support and love that has come from friends, relatives, and all who he touched throughout his life. As we were working on his obituary with the funeral director this morning, it seemed as though it should have been so much longer, because there is so much to say about him, but so much of it is in story, not the kind of thing you can sum up in one sentence or paragraph for the newspaper. He was a man of long, meandering, soulful, spiritual stories, and we pray that over the next days, weeks, months, and even years, that the community and all he touched will continue to tell those stories, to tell one another stories, to create more and new stories, to help continue his legacy.

On Easter Sunday as we visited, and from then on, Brad would remind those who came to see him to find the ones you love, and if you would give them a hug any other day, today give them two. Please do that, in his honor and memory.