A Meaningful Ride!

I took these pictures from our car so some of them aren't the greatest. Just the sound of all the bikers revving their engines made me cry. When the guys put dad in the hearse, all of Dads friends revved their engines. It was such an overwhelming sound. If you have been around bikes you know the feeling you get.

This is my Uncle Randy and my brother leading the pack.

I can't even name all of the guys and girls that were there for the ride. Every single person there has a place in all of our hearts for doing this for Dad.

It turned out to be a beautiful day. We were worried the day before because it rained most of the day.

Most of the riders don't have their helmets on. In New York state it is a law to wear your helmet but since it was funeral, most of them didn't wear them.

This car was also ahead of the hearse. One of my Dads friends drives it and wanted to be a part of the ride. Everything turned out to be just the way Dad would have wanted it.

A Day To Remember!

We all had a very emotional day on Friday. Not only because we buried our Dad, but because of what Dads old friends did for him and the family. They will probably never know how special it was for us. Dad's bike hadn't been on the road or even started for at least 12-13 years, but as you can see his friends got it running so Uncle Randy and my brother Kim could ride it in the procession.

Uncle Randy and Kim led the procession and were followed by about 20 other bikes. Just the sound of Dad's bike starting and all of the other bikes made most of the people there burst into tears. Even with it being such difficult day, it made it a little easier knowing that it was exactly what Dad wanted.

Thank you to everyone that has commented, e~mailed or lit a candle in remembrance of Dad. Reading all of your thoughts and stories will help all of us through this difficult time.

When I Must Leave You!

When I must leave you for a little while

Please do not grieve and shed wild tears

And hug your sorrow to you

Through the years

But start out bravely with a gallant smile
And for my sake and in my name

Live on and do all the things the same
Feed not your loneliness on empty days

But fill each waking hour in useful ways
Reach out your hand in comfort

And in cheer

And I in turn will comfort you

And hold you near

And never, never be afraid to die

For I am waiting for you in the sky

~ Helen Steiner Rice ~

Service Information!

For those of you that live out of town and can't get our local paper, Dad's obituary is available to view online. Click HERE to go to the Falconer Funeral Home website and look at it. While you are there you can light a candle and add your thoughts and memories of Dad.

A Difficult Day!

Dad's courageous seven year battle with cancer ended today. He passed away peacefully at noon with his family by his side. He was in no pain. We all got the chance to tell him goodbye and that we love him. We will have more information on the service tomorrow for all of the out of town family and friends.

Goodbye Dad

We love you and miss you already.

Back In The Hospital!

Dad had a really rough Saturday night / Sunday morning and so did Sharon. Dad had gotten so weak that he couldn't move from his chair even with help. Sharon just didn't feel comfortable or safe trying to take care of him, so she called Hospice to see what they thought she should do. They said that they felt it was time for him to go back to the hospital. Sharon agreed with them and had an ambulance come to take him down. He is still on a morphine drip and slept for most of the day. The room was full of company almost all day. At one point there were about 15 people in his room and you could tell by Dad's facial expressions that he wanted in on the conversation. We just left around 9:30 and he was resting comfortably.

Update!

You are still at Butch's Battle. We just decided that it was time for a change.

Dad is having some difficulty with his everyday activities. There are some things that we take for granted that he is struggling with. As most of you know, Dad is very independent, so it is hard for him to let others help. He has had many visitors which he really enjoys and lots of phone calls. He seems to sleep a lot, but he needs the rest. Sometimes he still joins in on the conversations even when we think he is sleeping. We have asked him if he is in any pain and he has told us no.

Thank you to everyone that has commented or e~mailed. We have made sure to read all of them to Dad.

He Is Home!

Dad got home at 1:00 today. 2 ladies from Hospice came for his first visit. One was a nurse and the other one was a social worker. They talked with the family and got dad set up with the things he needed. He was very happy to be home and relaxing in his own recliner. He was really unsteady and still very weak. He still doesn't have a very big appetite and not much sounds good to him. The one thing he said he missed was Lena's pizza, so that is what we had for dinner tonight. He had a few visitors today. Jerzie got a chance to come and see Papa today which made Dad very happy. There is nothing like her saying "Love you Papa!" Uncle Randy stopped to visit and had dinner with us. Dad and Sharon's friends Dave and Terry stopped by too. He was happy to see everyone. He also had a lot of phone calls. Please leave a comment or email him. We will make sure he sees them all.

Coming Home!

I got a phone call from one of Dad's nurses 10 minutes before I punched out at work on Monday. She told me that they were going to have a family meeting at 9:30 AM on Tuesday. She also asked if there was any way that someone could come spend the night with Dad to give him support. I said I wasn't sure and asked what was going on. She said she couldn't give me details. I left work. Thank God Chris was there to pick me up. We went straight to Kim's house and told him about the phone call. He called the nurse back and she told Kim the same thing. Kim decided that he would go stay with Dad. Kim didn't have a very good night. Dad was very out of it.

We had a family meeting on Tuesday. We got to Roswell at 9:00 AM. Dad was lying in the hospital bed and looked very worn down. Two of Dads doctors had a meeting with us. They told us that there was lymphoma in his liver and there was nothing else they could do for him. They said we could take him home and they would set everything up with hospice if that is what Dad wanted. Dad said that he wants to come home. We are waiting for hospice to get things all set up so we can bring him home. We are hoping to get him home before he is too weak to come home. We all told the doctor that we didn't want him in any kind of pain and that he had suffered enough. They said that we could leave him on his morphine pump so he had control of the pain. They said that he could be coming home today or tomorrow.

New Best Friend!

Dad has a new best friend. Dr. Smiley has put him on a morphine button where he can get morphine every 15 minutes. He is still having his normal pain and now has more because of the liver biopsy. His liver is swelling quite a bit from the biopsy and what ever is going on with it. They have also put him on a steroid once a day and an anti-fungal medication.

He has lost his appetite. Things that used to be his favorites don't even sound good any more. He said yesterday that the thought of eating makes him sick sometimes. He is down to 137 pounds. He is getting way too skinny. The bandage on his tummy is were they did his biopsy. He told us that he isn't ready to come home yet. He doesn't feel that he is strong enough. We should get the final results of his biopsy on Monday or Tuesday. This is the worst part. We don't like the waiting. The Dr. has given us a heads up with what it could be, but they want to be positive of what is going on with him. He is at the best place to be taken care of.

Not Sure Yet!

We still don't have all of the results back from Dads biopsy. I talked to Dr. Smiley last night and she said it may take a couple of days to get all of the tests run on it. For now, Dad will be staying in the hospital. He is pretty sore from the biopsy, so they have him on morphine for pain. That should help some. We will update you when we can.

Gave Us A Scare!

On Tuesday night dad was having very bad stomach pains. He was having a hard time breathing because he was in so much pain. Around 8:30 they got him in the car and took him back to Roswell. He didn't have a fever, but they thought that he might have an infection somewhere.

Chris and I went out yesterday morning to be with him. He had to have a needle biopsy done on his liver and he was very nervous about it. When we got there, he told us that he wasn't going through any of this again. "This is it!" He went down to have the biopsy around 1:00 PM. He got back to the room around 2:15. We haven't found out the results yet.

By the time we left, he was feeling a little better. The doctor said that dad will have to stay in the hospital at least through the weekend.

We will keep you posted.

Picnic!

We brought a picnic with us when we went to see Dad and Sharon this weekend. We cooked hot dogs when we got there. Everyone went outside while Chris was cooking them. Dad hates wearing his mask, but he has to be very careful not to get any kind of infection.

Here is a picture of him being a smart a** and smiling for the camera!!!

Sammy and his girlfriend Sue even came outside for a little while to get some fresh air.

Dad had an appointment at the clinic Saturday. For some reason all of his counts dropped. He started a new pill and they said it could make his platelets drop, but yesterday morning was the first time he took the pill. He has to go back on Monday to be tested again. He was doing pretty well other wise. He is really ready to come home. He wants to see his house. If all goes well we may be bringing him home next weekend.

What Is Missing?

When you look at this picture do you see something missing? We had been on this elevator many many times at Roswell Park and it took us a while, but something is missing!!

Dad is doing pretty good. His numbers are still going up and still have a ways to go, but they are slowly going up. He is still very tired. He says the weather hasn't helped with that since it has been so gloomy. He has lost his appetite. He really can't afford to do that, but the doctor says that it is normal. He needs to eat what sounds good to him when it sounds good. The one problem with that is that he can't have any leftovers. (he can't get a fungal or a bacterial infection) Everything has to be fresh.

The number 4 is missing!!

Floor number 4 is the maintenance floor!!