Dad went home to his Saviour, Jesus yesterday. We will hold a memorial service for him at Living Saviour Lutheran Church in Asheville, NC on Saturday at 10 am, and another at Trinity Lutheran Church in Belle Plaine, MN on Monday at 11 am. Mum hopes to also have a memorial service for him in Malawi at a later date.
Mum, Tanya, Keith, Nicole, Steve, and I spent his last two earthly hours with him in the hospital room, singing him hymns, reading to him from the Bible, and telling him stories of times past. He was not able to speak, but he managed to groan a "A uv u too" when we first walked in the room. I think he knew we were there with him and we reminded him constantly of how much we love him. We also told him that Kirsten and Lori were flying down, if he could hold on. God had other plans for him.
The week before he died he was very weak, finding it difficult to walk. He complained of pain in his left lower side if he moved. His last two days at home, he spent in his chair downstairs, waiting for and then watching his last Green Bay Packers game on Christmas day. They won. When he could not move at all early Monday morning, Mum called 911. They took him to Mission Hospital in Asheville, and then to St. Joseph hospital.
Test results show that the T-cell lymphoma in his skin metastasized to his blood and bone marrow. In his skin the cancer was not fatal (just uncontrollably itchy); in his blood it attacked his liver and kidneys, shutting them down. Given his constant, full-body itch for the last two years and his back-bending load due to edema, Dad was ready to go. When I asked him last Monday how he was doing emotionally, he said, "I'm strong; like a rock."
God did bless Dad with a rock-like faith. We are certain that right now Dad is enjoying the crown of life that Jesus won for him. We look forward to seeing him in heaven some day.
