My Grandpa Bob passed away on Friday. He was 82.

In November 2006, my Grandpa was severely injured in a backyard fire. He sustained mostly second-degree burns, but on one area of his right arm had third-degree burns. It was that right arm that caused all the subsequent problems.

I don’t even want to go into what the past year has been like for me and for my family, especially my Grandma; the suffering my Grandpa endured, the heartache and fear we all felt. The amount of trips to the hospital and the weeks of treatment there. It’s not something anyone should have to do through.

At least during that time, we had quality time together, times where Grandpa was doing well and walking around, going to parties. He was recovering so miraculously, we all truly thought he would be all right. But then one day, he wasn’t.

It’s not fair.

It’s not fair that my Grandma has lost her soul mate, her love and partner for the last 60 years; that my mom and aunt won’t have their father anymore; that me and my brother won’t have the love of a wonderful, sweet, caring grandfather.

He wasn’t senile or physically hindered at the time of the accident. He was fine. He was physically fit and still went to the gym. He sat by the window and read his book every afternoon. He painted all the time. He fixed things around the house. He babysat the neighborhood dogs. He still drove.

He was fine. Until the accident changed everything.

No matter how old a person is, if they are a joy to your life, you don’t want to see them go. I didn’t want to see him go. No one who knows him did. He was special. He deserved more time with the family and friends who love and cherish him.

I’m supposed to write the eulogy for the funeral. I’m finding it really hard to do that right now. I can’t seem to focus on the positive of his life without thinking how unfair his death was. But I hope I can do it. He deserves this one last thing.

Listen to this podcast

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 28th, 2007 at 11:57 am and is filed under personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.