Hadn’t posted too much about this, but my wife’s father had been diagnosed with cancer. He had an operation about six weeks ago to remove the tumor, and was on a chemotherapy regime; his prognosis was very good.
Last night, while he was in the hospital for his second round of chemo, he suffered a fatal heart attack.
There was no hint of heart trouble before this. He wasn’t even on a heart monitor. This came out of the blue.
Anyway, your prayers and good wishes are most certainly requested and appreciated, for the repose of the soul of a very good, very honest, and very admirable man, who raised two wonderful daughters and three great sons, and I was proud to be added as his fourth son.
Please accept my sympathies, Bricker. May you and your wife be comforted by happy and loving memories of her father, and by the kind attentions of those who care for you. My father died some years ago of a heart attack, with no personal or familial history to foreshadow it, shortly after being proclaimed perfectly healthy by his doctor. To express one’s feelings about the sheer brutal unfairness of such occurrences is to court either blasphemy or nihilism, so mostly we don’t. Instead we challenge Fate by remembering, telling the stories, perhaps embellishing them a little so they might spread wider and longer, repeating old jokes and advice, furiously charging at and with our minds and hearts and tears and laughter defeating the attempts of an indifferent Universe to erase a person who loved, and was loved, and who therefore can never be destroyed.
Really sorry to hear this, Bricker. If there’s any truth to the notion that daughters look for in their husband what they see in there father, then his character is a testiment to your own. I understand the love one can have for an in-law, feel fortunate to have known that myself, and most heartedly empathize with your loss. May your reflections on his life be strong and lasting.
I’m sorry for your loss. The suddenness means you didn’t have time to prepare, though there is the tiny consolation that he didn’t have time to suffer.
My sincere condolences to all who knew your FIL Bricker. Take care of yourselves. I’m sending you good thoughts, and hope you can find some peace in time.
