October, November and December are full of some of the most challenging times of my life as a father and as a human being. Cancer diagnosis and SO MANY hospitalizations happened over those months during a 12 year period. And obviously, this past December lead to Elise passing away which presented an entirely different set of challenges. My Facebook memories are full of challenging posts from this time of year.
On November 4, 2021 I picked Elise up from school for the last time. That has been weighing heavily on my mind in the past few weeks. I talked A LOT with Elise's teacher by text message throughout the school year. Dozens of times over the years I dropped everything to pick her up from school and deal with whatever health issue was happening at the time. November 4th was really no different than the many other times. As happened many times in these situations, her health struggles spiraled out of control and she landed herself in the hospital. Sadly, she was not able to bounce back this time.
I don't really know why there is a significance to me in Elise's last day of school. I suppose because it was a day like any other. It was not unusual for me to have to pick her up. It was not unusual to spend the night in the local ER only to drive to Kansas City to the hospital in the early morning hours. This was our "normal".
As I look back through the chain of text messages between myself and Elise's teacher, I read a lot of challenging times. None of it was easy, but it was the life I led. I suppose, unknowingly, November 4th was the day that Elise's GI system began to fail and some of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make began to move into motion.
I am fortunate to say that Elise had many great teachers, paras and helpers over the years. While November 4th will be a challenging day, I am appreciative of the impact that those people had on her life and mine.
