7.20.2009

Bitter Sweet experience!


I know I haven't posted in a long long time. I thought it would be appropriate to start now & share that my Dad passed away Yesterday morning. He died in so much peace with all of his siblings, parents, wife, children & loved ones around him with literally a SMILE on his face. He has been struggling for the pst 9 months with ASL ( As many of you know!) It is a horrible disease that is super painful. He was in a lot of pain, so when my sibling came out to tell us that he was gone, I felt this huge load off my shoulders, knowing that he was released from the pain he has been in. Looking at his body lay there so peacefully was such a sense of release & happiness & I knew he was in a BETTER place. He was such a humble, strong brave man to endure such a horrible disease, he was hardly ever negative and never complained, he bore his testimony to us just weeks before and was doing missionary work up until the day he died. The last thing he ate was the bread & water from the sacrament and minutes after receiving a blessing of release, he was released & left his body. I was able to spend the morning with him holding his hand, rubbing his chest & taking him in as much as I can, and I am so thankful I was there to experience this. I wouldn't have changed his passing any other way. He will always be in my heart & I will always remember what a funny, strong, handsome man he was. He is my hero! I love you Dad!

June 17, 1956- July 19th 2009

10 comments:

wilbergrivkah said...

Oh Nicole! I wish that I could be there to give you a hug! I love you so much and I will always remember your dad as a great and wonderful man! May God be with you in this time of grief...and I believe He already has been!

Ashley Perez said...

Thank you so much for sharing that Nicole. My heart is truly touched and I have tears in my eyes. You are such a strong and amazing person and I'm so glad that we know that we'll be with our loved ones again. I'm glad I could get to know more about your dad by reading the things you shared about him. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you and know that we're thinking about you and praying for your family.

CINDELandRYAN said...

Oh Nicole, thanks for sharing, and for being so strong! I'm so happy to know that both your father and family are finally at peace from all this. He is truely in a happy place and we both know you will all see him again! I can't wait to meet him someday :) Love you to pieces Nicole!

Andrea said...

Now I know where you got the love of making silly faces in photos....lol. I love you and am so glad you were able to be there for such a "spiritual" experience. You know you can come and talk to me anytime about this if you need to. {{{{{HUG}}}}}

amber buhrley said...

I am totally crying right now. What sweet post about your dad. I am sorry to hear about your loss but so happy for the peaceful way he went and that you could all be there. He truly was an amazing man and left a great legacy. I will always remember him tickling me when i was little until I was laughing so hard I was crying while he sang the song from mary Poppins "I love to laugh". He also drove all the way up to my Idaho Falls reception for my wedding. I couldnt hardly believe it and I was so excited to see him!

Simcah Reid said...

Both of us living in Layton and then in St. George I often ran into your Dad. He was so nice to Chris and I and always had a huge smile on his face. That is how I'll remember him. We love you and want you to know our prayers are with you.

Cody and Liesel said...

Nicole I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers!

Unknown said...

Thanks for posting this. Although I have never had this experience, I am so glad that you shared your feelings. It brings me a real sense of peace. Send my love to your family.

heather said...

My heart went out to you guys when I heard that your dad had passed away. I'm glad it was a good experience and that you got to be there to say goodbye. We love you guys- you're in our thoughts & prayers!

Mirna said...

Yes your father was a handsome man. I know you will miss him so much in the coming years. Know he will be watching over you from a better place. I hope he runs into "Norm" our "Little gaint" up there and says HI. I love you. Grandma S.