Manila, Philippines: Day 4

Yesterday was bad, Today was worse!! We got up and left the room around 8:30am, we just got down the stairs when I got a text message from Dena that said call Debby. If Dena couldn't tell me then I knew it had to be bad news from home. I called Debby and she said that my father had just passed away in his sleep 30 minutes previous..............Everyone didn't understand why I would make the trip when dad was sick but here is the story.

Dad has had emphysema for years and only had 23% capacity of his lungs. He was seeing doctors all fall for different things. Finally they told him he had a tumor growing and pressing on his esophagus and if he didn't have chemo he had 3 to 6 months and 2 or 3 years if he did. He decided to have the chemo. I found the good deal on a flight to Manila so I booked it. 2 days later he told me he wasn't doing the chemo, he was too tired to make the trip to town.

I figured he still had 3 to 6 months and I was only going for 2 weeks. It was a non refundable flight and I really could have canceled and forfeited the money but I still had Ivy to think about. She knew I bought the ticket and was as excited to meet me as I was her. If I had cancelled she wouldn't have believed any story I told and would have thought I was just having second thoughts about meeting her and that would have put a strain on our relationship that I didn't want on it. So I chose to follow through with the plan and go meet her. I was too much in love with her already and was sure the time was right to meet her.

My first day here I talked to mom and she said they didn't understand why I went through with the trip when I knew hospice was coming in to see him everyday and he wasn't good. I tried to explain what I wrote above but I still think they feel like I was wrong!!! Anyhow, the next day he fell getting in or out of bed and they had to call the paramedics to come get him back up and then that was when things turned and went quickly downhill from there.