Where I have been. In case you haven’t noticed, I have not posted anything to this site since May 9th. On May 12, 2018, my mother in law, Judy died. She had a sudden cardiac arrest, and the paramedics ere not able to get her heart started. We rushed up to her home as quickly as possible, but she was already cold by the time we got toh ospital. The next day, had to make funeral arrangements.
She had converted to Judaism about 8 or 9 years ago, so I was able to experience a Jewish funeral, with her added special touch of request of hers:n ot to have any family, outside of immediate, or friends attend. There was no wake or visitation, just a brief viewing at the graveside. I have no way to convey how difficult it wasf orj ust 4 of us; father in law, wife, and 11 year old son. Lookingb ack, it was very selfish of her to deny friends and family thatf inal closure. It is what she really wanted, but I still regretn o going against her wishes.
6 weeks later, my father had a sudden cardiac arrest on June 23rd. Unlike Judy, the paramedics were able to get his heart started, but his brainw asw ithout oxygen for 5 to 8 minutes. They followed a long protocol to cool his body down and then raise it back up to see how much brain damage had occurred. It turns out, all thatw as really left was his brain stem. On June 28th, it was decidedt od iscontinue any life support. He was surrounded by family, andh is brainstem was able to