My prayers and thoughts are with you. We went thru it 3 years ago. Hospice is a wonderful thing.

Thanks for the vibes and wishes folks.Communication is hard and sporadic, but dad still manages to smile when his eyes are open. I hope it stays that way for the remaining hours.

know that i'm behind you all the time...

this may not be the most comforting thought you've had all day, but logistics speak louder than typed digital content...

More prayers & vibes here from the library...

I'm not quite sure how to take that?

But, I'll give you some insight.

Dad is now 73, and has had a heart conditon now known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy for his entire life, although he didn't know it until he was in his late 50's. His father, Larry(I'm the 3rd) died in his early 40's in 1953(4 years before I was born) on the very day my father was to graduate high school.His younger and only sister was killed in a car accident in the early 60's at about the age of 26. His only and younger brother died in his late 40's in 1990. And his daughter, my sister, died in 1995 at the age of 36. All of these family members except for my late aunt, died as a result of HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy).
HCM is a genetic disease/condition and is commonly passed along in families. I have been spared the family curse, as has been my daughter, as has been determined through genentic and clinical testing. However, my youngest sister, her daughter and my late sister's daughter have not been.They are being treated and protected by medicne and technology.
The science of diagnosing, treating and understanding HCM has made great strides in very recent years, after years of being unrecognized by cardiologists. This is where dad comes in, and where he shares something with Woody Guthrie.
In his younger years, dad had symptoms that he nor his doctor could really figure out. Often, these things would be treated with the words "it's all in your head". Obviously, the symptoms don't go away because you don't know what is causing them. For a while, dad self-medicated with alcohol, but gave that up many years ago. And( like Woody), years ago, he would take off running unannounced to someplace that he thought might make him feel more at ease for days at a time. Point is, he was running from a demon he didn't know, but knew was there.This did subside on it's own a quite a bit over the years, but then he met the demon.
When he was introduced to the demon(HCM), then he knew what or whom he was fighting, and took a stand.It's easier to fight the enemy when you know what the enemy is, Swinging at shadows doesn't work. He got the medical treatment he needed.
This treatment, included different things concerning a little understood condition, and the doctors were and still are learning.
Much of what he went thorough, including major surgery almost 2 years ago in Cleaveland, he did for himself and family in the immediate. However, much of what he went through he did for family and others with HCM for the future, as the doctors are still learning. I really don't know if he would have gone through all that he has for himself alone. Seeing what he went though, I may have chosen not to. This shall be dad's legacy.
My youngest sister Lisa started an information and support group shortly after our sister's death in 1995. She has grown it into a major and unique force in the HCM community, and serves as CEO and founder.Dad was quite active over the years in fundraising for the HCMA.
HCM is more common than people know, affecting as many as 1 in 500 people. Often, when you read about a young athlete dropping dead on the field, it is HCM that is often the culprit. Often, the first "symptom" is sudden death. Learn more and pass it on.

www.4hcm.org

Your dad really IS an amazing (and wonderful) man to go through what he's gone through to help with research... and to stay alive for his loving family.

With so many family members dying from HCM, I am curious how your dad managed to beat it for so long. Have the docs looked into what kept him going for decades after everyone else died from it?

I hope for him and the rest of the family that his final moments are peaceful surrounded by love.

HCM has variations and degrees of severity. My father's aunt lived until 95 with a form of it. Many cases are manageable nowadays with modern medicine.

They have told him that he is a stubborn Irishman.

Here's C-Bob's website. It's odd to go there and know that he's no longer there. He was into widgets so it takes a while to load. He made an animated .gif icon for my About Me. He liked Arlo and liked that I had the bus image so he animated it. He gave Craig Crawford, political pundit and now Bolo Pundit, his scorpion bolo tie. Craig wears it sometimes when he's on MSNBC. The top video is him about him. He would have fit in here nicely. Too bad we don't have a legacy like that from Todd.

http://colorado-bob.blogspot.com/search?q=

http://patterns2.blogspot.com/

Hi, Larry. It's been a long while since I was here, and I came on this topic in my search.

I am very sorry to learn of your father's illness. Sending prayers and vibes for a painless passing for him and for comfort for you and your family.

I too am thankful you got bypassed on the genetics. You and Arlo have that in common.

Sounds like your dad went thur quite alot. And he's young too. Younger than my folks...

[A few C-Bob videos and one dedicated to him./color]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aSzxhiPb6w8

http://youtube.com/watch?v=whhmpMy1ejw

http://youtube.com/watch?v=b4Xlz8m2rFw

[color=blue]Last link revised to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hQLI5nkHFI