I Lost My Grandfather Last Night

I’m typing this sitting at a Starbucks in Penticton, British Columbia. On Sunday night I received a phone call from my sister telling me that my grandfather was suffering from kidney and liver cancer, and was near death. This came as a complete shock to everyone – a few weeks ago he was healthy and walking around. Ashley and I got on a plane and flew to BC Monday afternoon, and got to see him open his eyes and acknowledge we were there. Last night, while I was holding his hand, he passed away – his lungs filled with fluid and his heart stopped. I’ve never experienced death in such a direct manner before, so it was an experience unlike anything else – and likely something I’ll be exploring on this blog in the future. We’re going to stay in Penticton until the funeral on Saturday, then we’ll be heading home.

I have no connectivity unless I walk over to the nearby shopping mall and pay $8 for an hour of online access ($13 for the day) so if I don’t respond to email messages, that’s why. I’ll likely be back on Sunday night and returning to work Monday morning.