Book excerpt from my friend Lori Moore.
SETTING THE SCENE:
My former husband died unexpectedly in 2008, just 3 days short of what should have been his 50th birthday. In fact, we held his funeral on his birthday, 9/15/2008. After he died, a friend suggested that I journal as a way to deal with my grief. The journal turned into the book, MISSING ANDY. An excerpt follows.
Excerpt from MISSING ANDY
"We did everything we could. I’m sorry. "
With just those seven words, Andy was gone. Five minutes earlier, I had arrived at the intensive care unit waiting room, where Andy’s dad and two brothers were waiting. I should have known that things weren't going well when the chaplain came in to pray with us. When the doctor who had responded to the emergency code in ICU walked in, it was just like a movie. Everything in the background faded away. I was sitting next to Andy’s dad, Bob. When the doctor walked in, we all looked up as he walked straight over to Bob and said those seven words: We did everything we could. I’m sorry. Then everything was silent. He didn't have to say the D word––dead. He was talking in past tense. It was obvious that Andy had passed away. While the doctor was speaking, the rest of the room disappeared in a fog. Then Bob started to wail. It wasn’t until Bob started wailing that it sunk in with his other two sons just what had happened. They too cried out in pain and started to cry. I was numb. We weren’t expecting it. This wasn't supposed to happen. Andy was just forty-nine years old and was fine only an hour before he passed away. The chaplain and I embraced Bob. They say there’s nothing worse than a parent losing a child. It’s not supposed to happen that way; it’s supposed to be the other way around.
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