Tag Archives: death

Borrowing Time (A Visit to the ER)

Posted on May 4, 2013 by ivanbenson

We went to the ER last night with one of our adult daughters. If visits to the ER can be categorized I suppose this would go down as a good visit. She was complaining of sudden dizziness, nausea, chest and … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

It’s Not About Me!

Posted on December 31, 2012 by ivanbenson

I sat by my Dad’s beside as the doctor reviewed his medical condition and provided him with the treatment options that were available to him. Dad only had one kidney (he had lost the other to cancer several years previously), … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

First Christmas

Posted on December 22, 2012 by ivanbenson

My first Christmas was in 1953. But I don’t remember it at all. I was just a few weeks out of the incubator at the hospital in Chattanooga (having been 4 to 7 weeks premature, and just over 4 lbs … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Unfinished Tasks

Posted on December 7, 2012 by ivanbenson

My oldest daughter was going through Christmas cards yesterday, sorting through some of her late grandmother’s unused cards to use as her own this season. We had given these cards to her as we cleaned out mother’s apartment in late … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Nursing Homes, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Final Cut

Posted on November 29, 2012 by ivanbenson

My family and I went to see Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” last night at the movie theater; what a marvelous performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, portraying the beloved president who was complex yet simple, powerful yet demure, jocular yet intense, cheerful yet … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

30 Years Ago

Posted on October 24, 2012 by ivanbenson

It was thirty years ago next month that my friends and I ran in the Marine Corps Marathon is Washington, DC. It was a beautiful, cool morning, with crystal clear skies as we embarked on the 26.2 mile treck around … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Winning the Battle

Posted on September 12, 2012 by ivanbenson

My mother won her battle with pulmonary hypertension just after midnight, as Friday, August 24, 2012 announced its arrival. She awoke from a long slumber which lasted all day and all night Thursday, and when asked if she was all right, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Nursing Homes, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Ragtime Cowboy Joe

Posted on August 22, 2012 by ivanbenson

On Saturday hospice took over my mother’s case at the assisted living facility in the small community where she now resides, a few miles south of us. I was pleased. She needs the extra care, and I think they will … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Nursing Homes, Stories, Uncategorized, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments