standgale ([info]standgale) wrote,

RIP Dad - I thought people might like to know

My Dad died just after midnight yesterday (April 1st) morning. It's all very strange, mostly everyone's being normal. It's strange.
I'm mostly sad with respect to Mum. What a far more terrible thing for her than for any of the rest of us.
So it was 5th February (remembered because it was the day before the Waitangi Day weekend) that we found out about the cancer, and April 1 that he died, which is about 8 weeks.
One thing that I want to say for some reason, is that you can apparently tell when someone dies. He kept on stopping breathing for a while, then breathing again, and every time he stopped breathing we thought it was it. But when it actually was it, he just looked completely different from one second to the next. One minute he looked like Dad, and the next he didn't look like anyone, like any person, he was dead. So when it was "it" then it was actually completely obvious. I don't know if this happens with all people, but maybe someone might need/want to know this some day. He also died with his mouth open, and a couple of hours later, we woke up and he had closed it/it had closed. He looked awful with it open, and fairly "normal" with it closed, so it was actually a great relief and a very good thing for everyone to see him like this instead. Although the doctor said it was (presumably) just muscle tension or something, like some normal medical thing, Mum said she hadn't seen it happen with any of the residents of the rest-homes she worked in. So it was unusual at least.
I'll put his name here in case some long-lost relative is searching for his name some day, or something like that, and also as a rememberence: Leopold (Leo) Zenon Jankowski.


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  • 3 comments

[info]madamemodiste

April 2 2009, 02:31:48 UTC 3 years ago

I'm so sorry

[info]civetmoon

April 2 2009, 10:07:52 UTC 3 years ago

I'm very sorry to hear : ( . I hope you and your family are doing all right.

I understand what you are talking about, about people looking different in death. I saw it in both of my grandfathers after they passed away. It's a very strange and surreal feeling.

[info]eggies_red_dres

April 2 2009, 16:20:02 UTC 3 years ago

Deepest condolences. My family and I were with my grandmother when she passed away. I agree that the moment before and the moment after were quite different, because somehow you know. What your eye tells you isn't the whole story.

Sympathies.
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