Sorry I haven't been around all that much. Three weeks ago Dad went into the VA for a routine exam and had a sudden bout of dizziness. They found his heart was beating extremely slow. The next day they inserted a pacemaker, and talked about how good he'd feel after he got home. Sadly this wasn't the case. He deteriorated steadily and we finally transferred him to the Lindner Heart Failure Center at Christ Hospital here in Cincinnati. He is not doing well at all.

Dad is a month shy of 85. He has been spoiling to be the last WWII vet alive, and certainly was one of the luckiest. He was drafted towards the end of the war and missed going to Okinawa with a bad case of strep throat that forced him to repeat basic training. They were going to use him in the invasion of the mainland, but they dropped the Bomb as he was shipping over and he was diverted to Korea instead. If you remember M.A.S.H., there was a character you never actually saw named Sparky. Radar was always on the phone with him back at Division HQ in Seoul. That was my Dad. They didn't have M.A.S.H. units back then, but he supplied the field hospitals in Korea from a big warehouse. He decided not to re-enlist, and he made it home long before the invasion from the North.

Right now, Dad's luck is not good. Any prayers you can send our way would be appreciated.

Prayers on the way.

Done.

He's got 'em from me..


Nice story, sir...

Prayers offered.

Prayers sent..

Prayers for a positive outcome on the way.

Coming from me too.

You got them from MN.

Prayers for your dad


Please thank him for his service


Allen

Prayers offered my friend.

Certainly will Shaman my friend, certainly will.

Hope all is well with him

Prayer said for your father, Shaman.

Just prayed, will do so again. Thank you for letting us know and giving us the privilege of praying for your dad AND for you.

Blessings,

MARK

Sent!


George

You got it!

Prayers lifted up here!

Please thank your Dad for his service for us.

Ed

You got them.
My dad is 88 and is in the hospital as he just had a knee replaced, so I can understand the worry.
Hope together we all can help your Dad.

Prayers are on the way...

Done

Prayers and best wishes.

Prayers and wishes for his recovery.

I send my thanks for his service.

Thoughts and prayers from Iowa.

Prayers offered.

Well, I gotta say you guys must have a clear line back upstairs. Yesterday about dinner time he started responding again. He even croaked out a recognizable "BYE!" as we were leaving for the night.

He's by no means out of the woods, but at least we know his brain salad didn't get totally scrambled and he is still in the building. This morning, Mom called me to say that his kidneys are starting to respond as well.

Thanks all for the good words upstairs. Keep it up. We're a long way from getting him home.

Great news. I pray he continues to improve each day.

Shaman,

That IS good news! We will certainly keep praying here!

Ed

Prayers Sent.

More Prayers offered.

From me too. Wishing your dad the best.

Paul

Prayers sent for this hero.

Nice to hear he is improving, hope he is home soon.

God Bless

Prayers sent.

On the way....

Shaman, said a prayer for your dad.

Prayers for your Dad.
Also have missed you at the Campfire.
Keep faith friend ~ and God bless.

This is going to be one of those bum messages you often see at the bottom of one of these prayer request threads. Last night, we got the call; Dad had just given up and stopped breathing.

None of us were there. Nobody knew this was coming. I had taken Mom back to my house for dinner, and then she had entertained the kids for a while back at her place, feeding them sundaes.

In a lot of ways, I am kind of happy it came this way. Dad had not shown any sign of consciousness in over a day. Mom was spared a lot. Probably if Dad had been calling the shots, he would have rather had us all together watching football and yucking it up anyway.

So there you have it. I really truly miss his stories. Most were laced with names of local Cincinnati glitterati, but a surprising number included folks you might know.

".. .so Jack Lescoli, Bill Nimmo and I met up with Jackie Gleason and go back to his place to play pool . . . I wake up on the boat to Hamburg. I don't know how I got there.. ."

Growing up, I was always amazed at the number of local TV people he knew. Bob Braun had been his best friend when Bob was still a lifeguard at Sunlight Pool. He'd managed to date most of the cast of Midwestern Hayride. What had happened was that he was building apartments back about the same time the local TV stations were first coming on the air. Word got around that my Dad had good clean places at a reasonable rate and soon a good number of the local talent were tenants. Rod Serling was there. I remember meeting Gene Shepherd and Kenny Price when I was a kid.

For all my life, I've been walking into bars and restaurants and having folks recognize my name and tell me how much they love my Dad and my Mom. He was a guy who just knew how to have fun and how to make fun for the people around him. He just made you happy.

But as the old Chinaman says:



From Eulogy for Eulogy for Big Stick 2/7/2007

So sorry to hear this, but prayers for the family!

He is in a better place now, and that should give solace.

You have my deepest condolences.

Prayers continue for you and your family.

Ed

Shaman, ya got prayers from out here in Colorado. Les

Sorry for your loss. Your family is in my prayers.

Thoughts and prayers from Iowa. Remember the good times and support one another.

May the good Lord watch over you all. He lived a great life and left a wonderful family to carry on.

Prayers sent for your Mother, yourself, family, and friends, who have lost such an Good Man, they are far and few between, God Bless Him.

Lynn

So sorry to hear this. God's peace to you and the family.

Sorry for your loss Sir, prayers of comfort offered from casa Lee.