ETA: Poppy passed away early this morning in the hospital at 2:15 am.

If you have been a frequent visitor to my blog, facebook page, or followed my tweets, then you know that on March 8, I lost my oldest sister two days after my Father-in-Law (Poppy)  was admitted into the hospital with  respiratory issues (among other things).

Poppy has been in the hospital for about 2 months now, and his stay has been plagued with setbacks and false hope. He suffers from Stage D Congestive Heart Failure, COPD, lesions on his diaphragm that make it painful and difficult for him to breathe, MRSA, and his organs are failing. He is in pain and gasping for air that will never come.  He is tired; we are all tired. And we have tried to be strong, but the reality is that we can no longer prolong what nature has in store.

Last night, my in-laws, my family, made the decision to keep Poppy off of the respirator and this morning, they made the decision to stop dialysis and the feeding tube. They were tough decisions to make, but the fact is that sometimes the most loving and humane thing that we can do for our loved ones is to let them go.

Maybe one day soon I’ll write about my relationship with my Father-in-law. About how he was my surrogate father despite so many thinking that he would not like me because I am Black. I will write about how when my own  Dad passed away in 2000, my father-in-law comforted me in the only way he knew how- by cooking me dinner. I will tell you all about how I helped him set up his very first computer despite being seriously allergic to his cat… Continue reading →