I lost my father today. Got a call about 10:17 CST this morning. He had to be rushed to the emergency room because his blood pressure / heart rate were fluctuating wildly between very high and dangerously low. Later I spoke with the palliative care nurse there at the hospital and she informed me that the prognosis was grim and that, based on his doctor's assessment, he didn't have much time left. I immediately left work and rushed to pick up my brother and we went to my sister's house where we were at least able to FaceTime with him. Dad was in and out. At that point they were basically just making him as comfortable as possible but we were able to say or goodbyes. He passed this evening around 6 PM. Before he passed we were able to FT again, this time with our extended family.
My dad was the walking definition of a "self-made man". He was born literally "dirt poor" in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1941. His mother was trying to raise him, along with his brother and sister all on her own and eventually had to send him to live with relatives in NYC who could better care for him. He never finished high school because he had to find whatever work he could in order to send money to his mother back in PR. Something he continued to do until her death. He eventually enlisted in the Army. His desire was to go into Airborne / Jump School but wasn't able to. This was due to a heart murmur they detected during medical screening. He ended up as a supply specialist and was eventually assigned duty at Redstone Arsenal Huntsville Alabama where he met my mother. After they married, he was transferred to Germany and eventually went to Vietnam. There he took part in several campaigns with the 1st Infantry Division including Operation Cedar Falls and Operation Junction City. I remember him telling me stories about his experiences there. He still has a large stack of pictures he took from his tour there.
When he left the Army, he used his GI Bill to go to night school, studying drafting while working a day job at P. R. Mallory and Co. Inc making batteries to provide for us. When he graduated, he went to work in the engineering dept of the US Army Corp of Engineers - Ballistic Missile Defense program. Even then he was always trying to better his and our situations by taking correspondence courses. I remember him staying up late at night working on them and he eventually retired a GS-12. After retiring, he continued working with the government with various contractors.
The man was my hero. I will miss him terribly.
My dad was the walking definition of a "self-made man". He was born literally "dirt poor" in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1941. His mother was trying to raise him, along with his brother and sister all on her own and eventually had to send him to live with relatives in NYC who could better care for him. He never finished high school because he had to find whatever work he could in order to send money to his mother back in PR. Something he continued to do until her death. He eventually enlisted in the Army. His desire was to go into Airborne / Jump School but wasn't able to. This was due to a heart murmur they detected during medical screening. He ended up as a supply specialist and was eventually assigned duty at Redstone Arsenal Huntsville Alabama where he met my mother. After they married, he was transferred to Germany and eventually went to Vietnam. There he took part in several campaigns with the 1st Infantry Division including Operation Cedar Falls and Operation Junction City. I remember him telling me stories about his experiences there. He still has a large stack of pictures he took from his tour there.
When he left the Army, he used his GI Bill to go to night school, studying drafting while working a day job at P. R. Mallory and Co. Inc making batteries to provide for us. When he graduated, he went to work in the engineering dept of the US Army Corp of Engineers - Ballistic Missile Defense program. Even then he was always trying to better his and our situations by taking correspondence courses. I remember him staying up late at night working on them and he eventually retired a GS-12. After retiring, he continued working with the government with various contractors.
The man was my hero. I will miss him terribly.
