A death in the family

In early November, one of my uncles was in a motorcycle accident on his way to work. The day it happened we were very worried. As time went by we learned that his injuries were moderate. He had to have major reconstructive surgery on one elbow, but his other injuries were less severe. He was released from the hospital after a week or so & seemed to be recovering well.

On Thanksgiving morning my Mom talked to him on the phone and other than being short of breath he sounded good. She came to Thanksgiving dinner at our house and we all had a nice time. Late that night I took one last look at Facebook before bed & discovered that he had been readmitted to the ICU after collapsing outside his oldest son's in-law's home. I called my Mom.

On Friday morning my Mom called me, he had blood clots in his lungs and there was concern about his kidneys and his lungs. About a half hour later she called me again sobbing, he had died. From what we understand he died from the blood clots. He just turned 53 at the end of October.

My Uncle Patrick was very much like an older brother to me when I was little. I spent a lot of time at my Grandfather's house & the only times I remember visiting my Grandmother as a small child, my Uncle Patrick was always with me. He was 10 yrs older than me & always seemed like a giant because he was so much bigger than everyone else. I remember being really sad when he got married & joined the Navy, it was really hard going to Granpop's and having him not be there. I moved to California soon after and I only visited my Grandfather for a week or two in the Summers, Uncle Patrick's visits home never seemed to coincide with mine. We heard through the family grapevine about him, but almost never saw him.

A few years after I got married he moved to California, near where we lived & we saw him much more frequently. I was always impressed with how devoted he was to his wife and children. While most of that side of my family is renowned for their tempers, I never saw him lose his temper with anyone. Anytime there was a family crisis, he was there to hold everyone together. He was our family ROCK, our roots & our comfort, I just don't know how we are going to manage without him.