January 19, 2004
George Edward Hailey Sr. April 28, 1942-Jan 18, 2004
Taken too soon and too fast.
I spent Saturday with him and my mother at the hospital. I'm not sure if he knew I was there or not. He was dehydrated, in renal failure, potentially suffering from peritonitis, and his liver was failing. They had him sedated to allow his body its best chance to heal itself. The prognosis wasn't good. Even if he came through this crisis, his liver was too damaged; it would have been a matter of months at best.
Throughout the day, he had brief periods of consciousness. Although I'm not sure how lucid he was most of the time, there were brief moments where he seemed aware of his surroundings. At one point, my mother was leaving the room and she said to him, "I love you."
His eyes opened and he mumbled, "I love you."
Those were his last words.
Around 6PM on Saturday, the nephrologist gave us a little good news; his kidney function was climbing, from shutdown to 20%. He felt that Dad was recovering, and that additional rehydration and antibiotics to combat the peritonitis should pull him through the crisis.
Around 4AM Sunday morning he took a turn for the worse. His blood pressure began dropping, as did his heart rate. Apparently, the rehydration allowed the infection to run wild through his body. Mom called us at about 5:20. By 6:00 it was over.
I still can't believe he's gone.
My condolences Rich, is there anything I can do?
Posted by: JWR on January 19, 2004 7:55 AMRich,
Sorry to hear about your loss.My condolences also, to you and your family.
My condolences. Our thoughts are with you.
Posted by: SayUncle on January 19, 2004 10:09 AMRich, my utmost to your family.
Posted by: Geoffrey Wykes on January 19, 2004 10:14 AMRich, we are sorry to hear of your loss. Our condolences to you and your family.
Posted by: skb on January 19, 2004 10:32 AMMy condolences to you and your family.
Posted by: Manish on January 19, 2004 2:08 PMI'm very sorry to hear about your loss Rich.
Posted by: Justin on January 19, 2004 9:19 PMGeorge Hailey Sr. was one of the greatest men I have had the pleasure of knowing. To have such a man for a grandfather has been one of god's greatest gifts that I have recieved. That man was full of so much love that it baffled me. I often wondered how a man could possess so much love for his family. No matter what I did, he was proud of what I accomplished. He backed each and every person in our family with every undertaking. He was our patriarch. So much of what I have today is because of him. I have shed many tears from his passing and I pray that he is in a better place.
Posted by: Isaac on January 20, 2004 12:17 AMMy condolences for your loss. I hope your mother is in good health and will live for a long time more.
I lost both my parents only 113 days apart. I hope you don't have to go through that.
Posted by: Mark on January 20, 2004 9:13 PMMy condolences. My dad died five years ago. Candid pictures of him would have showed him smoking cigarettes his whole life even after he was diagnosed with emphysema.
Posted by: Les Jones on January 21, 2004 12:00 PMRich,
I disagree with virtually everything you say, but boy my heart's with you now.
You're in my thoughts and prayers.
Posted by: Balisardo on January 21, 2004 1:09 PMSorry, I hadn't visited your site sooner - this was the first I'd heard. I'm very sorry for your loss, Rich, and if there's anything any of us can do for you or Isaac, please let us know.
Take care.
Posted by: Barry on January 27, 2004 9:07 AM