On Sunday, March 1st, I left Round Rock to head home to Tomball after Daddy's surgery. Upon leaving, Mom and Dad both did the usual routine of following me out into the garage with hugs and kisses. My Dad was still in a lot of pain, but regardless made it a point more than once to tell me, "I love you." I did the usual "love you back", hugs, silly joke, etc. To my surprise, my Dad grabbed my face between his hands and said. "Look at me, I mean it. I hope you know how proud I am of you and what a beautiful person you are. I love you Sweetie." I stared back at his handsome face and smiled saying, "Of course I do and I love you more." I remember driving away with both of them waving, I doing the usual honking, and chuckling. Never did I ever think I would talk to Dad one more time on a 3 way call with Mendy the next day and that would be it.
Times all seem to run together, but it was a little after 2am on March 3rd when I got a call from Mendy. When I answered, I could tell there was a sense of urgency like never before and that I needed to "come home". I did not quite know all the details at the time, but my heart felt the calling of home. All I knew was that Dad had collapsed and was being transported via EMS and did have a pulse. I quickly threw clothes in a bag and was on the road in less than 10 minutes. Charles and I decided it would be best for him to stay back with the kids until I knew more of what was occurring. Due to heavy fog, I couldn't speed hardly at all, but nonetheless I kept my flashers on and drove toward the unknown. I remember calling Aunts/Uncles and close family to try and let them know. I made it to the lit up town of Giddings, which is where I was stopped for going 65mph in a 45mph through town. I had my license and registration out the window before the police officer ever got out of his car. The sweet officer took one look at me once he approached the car...I remembering saying something about my Dad, and he replied, "Is your Dad going to make it?" I can recall saying through tears, "I do not know sir." The officer quickly informed me that he would escort me to the county line and then also call ahead to see if another escort could pick me up in the next county. That is exactly what happened! I had a 2 county police escort and was able to make a normal 2.5 hour drive much safer in about 1 hr 45 minutes. Dad would have LOVED that! Mendy called back just before I hit Elgin about 30 min away to say the doctors were still working on him, doing a few tests, and all she knew was that he had a pulse. I knew this was not looking good, but tried to stay positive and rush to see him in time, whatever that may be. I even racked up a red light ticket from a camera 2 miles from the hospital, but it was all worth it.
I parked on the ER side of the hospital and sprinted inside as fast as I could. Upon entering, they took me back to a room where Mom and Mendy were already huddled around Dad. I walked straight over to him, gave him a hug and let him know I was there and told him I loved him in his ear. It was in that moment, I felt God telling me this was the end for my Dad. I remember telling myself to hold it together, be positive, and miracles happen. But, honestly, my heart knew the message God was telling me. No matter how bad I wanted to fight it, I couldn't deny that God was about to take one of the most important people in my life away from me. I looked around to examine the situation and noticed he was on a ventilator, already connected to a cooling device to cool his body for swelling, and had zero reflexes or pupil dilation when I opened his eyes. The nurse informed that that from the time Mom called EMS to the time they actually revived him with the AED it was a 22 minute period. My heart began to tighten. It is the odd things I recall at this point like having trouble swallowing in that moment. Another odd thing I recall is seeing a white plastic toothpick, similar to what my Dad used daily on the hospital cooling machine. Usually hospitals are so sanitized, that it looked out of place for sure. I asked one of the nurses where it came from and they replied, "no idea, but we will of course discard that for you." I quickly stated, "no thanks, please leave it." In a weird way, I think this was one of those reminders that even if Daddy was in limbo, he was there with us. That same white toothpick stayed with Daddy for the rest of the day until Charles put it in his wallet before we left the hospital that night. I continued to speak to Daddy, as well as Mendy and Mom until they notified us that he would be moved up to ICU. While in the hallway as they prepared him for the move, Dr. Harper was there and gave us all a hug and let us know the MRI's of the brain should be able to show more. I tried to internally be positive and supportive for Mom and Mendy. We watched as he was wheeled with all his devices to his ICU room. The rest of the day would prove to be the longest and emotional day I have ever encountered. Soon began the visits from beloved friends, dad's brother Don. friends, neighbors, and so many more. When I wasn't next to him, I remember leaving to pace the halls or waiting rooms down stairs asking myself what I was going to do. How does one prepare for the loss of a person who means everything to you? Charles got there that afternoon and the whole family spent the day talking to Dad and being together. It was clear as the day went on that 3 different Doctors spoke with us and stated that the MRI showed significant brain damage with 0 chance of survival. After all the tests, the doctors believe Dad had bilateral pneumonia and had aspirated into both his lungs possibly causing him to have a heart attack. The doctors also believed that Dad had an extremely high fever (possible 106-108 degrees) that likely developed quickly and put him into cardiac arrest and probable heart attack. Dad had not had a fever or any outwardly signs the day before, so they also mentioned sepsis, which is a blood infection that could also cause organ failure. We now have the death certificates which state the primary cause as "Cardiopulmonary failure", due to "Myocardial Infarction". Once Dr. Harper came in to confirm everything, us 3 girls made the toughest decision to turn off the ventilator that was helping Dad breathe. From there, it would be up to God whether Dad could breathe on his own. I knew what the outcome would be, but the prayers never stopped for a miracle, and also that should Daddy go to Heaven it be one of the most easiest transitions ever. Dad had the sweetest nurse named Deepa that day who actually stayed 3 hours off duty that night to be with our family and watch Dad make his transition to Heaven. Surrounded by about 20 people in the room, Deepa disconnected the ventilator at 8:45pm and Dad's chest slowly quit breathing. Charles and I were on one side of Dad, and Mendy, Mom, and Chris were on the other. I laid my head on his chest to listen to his heart beat as long as I could. I could no longer hear his heart around 9pm, and I whispered, "I love you Daddy, you did it! You are fixing to hear 'Well done my good and faithful servant'". He was pronounced to be talking with Jesus at 9:02pm. The rest of the next few days were rough. Just the finality that Dad was not there was tough. Not to mention there were plans to be done and funerals to prepare. Those will have to be another post with pictures, maybe that will be my goal tomorrow.
Until then, the world and selfishly I, lost one of the greatest men on Earth, Rex Edward Parks. I don't even know how to sum up my feelings of my Dad. Some people are lucky enough to have one amazing parent and God chose me to be raised by two of the world's most loving parents. I honestly cannot remember one negative memory. The way they taught me was always in love. There were very few items I truly "wanted" and did not get, but I always got what I "needed". If there was something I wanted (like a TV in my room at the age of 16), he taught me to make fliers and put in every mailbox for a babysitting job all summer long. Which I did, and was able to buy a TV...fyi! When I stayed home sick at the age of 6, my Dad would grill cut up hot dogs on my Barbie grill to make me laugh. He was always happy, had tea parties with Mendy and I, cleaned our hamster cages for us, saw the good things in life, encouraged me to go after my dreams, told me never to settle for less than the best, taught me to be frugal with my money, patience with kids, "get to the point", "put my big girl panties on", and most importantly that the glass is always half FULL instead of half empty. He loved his Starbucks Frappacino's from Walgreens, even though his diabetes doctor said that was a no. He just cannot be replaced, which is a great part of the pain that I have a hard time releasing. I know some of you reading this are thinking how lucky I am in. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW THAT, but that doesn't mean I don't want my Daddy back. I truly am not questioning God's plan anymore, I trust in that. I do however desperately wish my kids had more time to know Papa. Mom and Dad would have been married 47 years on August 23rd. That is just an amazing testament of the love they both have and shared with our families and friends. I could ramble all night, but honestly, I am not sure what else to say. My Daddy was one of a kind to so many and I love him more than words. One of the zillion cards I got in the mail from a friend says "Your heart hurts most for those you loved the most." I would say that is true.
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