We were fortunate to be near Brisbane and able to get a direct flight to Perth on Monday.
Dad’s Aged Care Home is about 10 minutes from Perth Airport and we picked up our hire car and went to see him. Two of my sisters Karen and Debbie were in Dad’s room and it was clear he wasn’t in great shape – it was apparent that he had a massive stroke the day before. We stayed with him for a quite a while before retiring for the night – we were hoping he may come around tomorrow as can often happen. We spent the next day with Dad and my 3 sisters were there – we played all his favourite CDs –mainly Johnny Cash, some Slim Dusty and I slipped in an old favourite ‘My Boomerang Won’t Come Back’ which he seemed to respond to. As the day and evening wore on however it seemed he wasn’t improving – we retired fairly late and would see what tomorrow would bring. I got the dreaded phone call at 3.05am – he passed quickly, actually while I was in on the phone – no time to go see him however I quickly dressed and went to see him and my sister Karen met me there.
Yesterday we had his memorial service and it was a beautiful service. We really appreciate the messages of support and the special people who came along to pay their respects. I’m now looking forward to some quiet time on ‘Echo Beach’ with Leanne to reflect on things and then get on with our journey. We’ll miss Dad and about the only consolation is that he would be happy to be with Mum. Love you Dad