Spending the Last Few Moments with My Best Friend in a Hospital Room

Christmas time is a joyous time. But for some people it may not be a happy time for them. For the past couple of days during this Christmas holidays, I kept thinking of my dear dear best friend of the past four decades. I would like to remember him this Christmas season and recall the last few precious moments spent with him.

Tuesday/October/2024 ---- It was our Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada. We planned a special thanksgiving dinner for our students in Waterloo. Getting things organized ahead of time, we would normally drive to Waterloo a couple of days earlier. However, we had this intuition that we needed to go and see my friend in Barrie. Taking a detour, we headed toward Barrie on Tuesday to see Don whose health had been deteriorating rapidly. We thought we would see him at his house and we kept calling but no one answered. Later we found that having been discharged from the hospital, Don was taken back home. But there were many complications and he was re-admitted back to the hospital.

We went to see him at the Royal Victoria Helath Centre where he was lying in bed and could hardly open his eyes. I called him and he responded feebly. I asked him if he was thirty to which he replied yes. I fed him a few spoons of my homemade congee. He eagerly took them. But I noticed that he was having problems swallowing as he didn't seem to be able to swallow liquid food easily. Flo, Don's sister informed me the doctors told the family Don would only have a few days. Instead of leaving that night as we had planned, we decided to stay overnight and called to book a night at the Travel Lodge.

Wednesday --- We returned to the hospital the next day around noon; Dou and Flo were already there. This time we called Don but he didn't respond at all. He was breathing deeply with his mouth open. We were very sad to hear that the doctor had ordered no food nor drink for him as he would only have a few hours. I spent the whole day by his bedside while S. spent the time with Dou to keep him company. I realized that this would be the last few hours I had with my best pal. I held his hand and felt his warmth. O, how I treasured these last few moments with my dear beloved friend! I hang on to him. Knowing that this would be the last oppportunity I had with him, in tears I told him I loved him, how much he meant to me and thanked him for his support for me and my family for the past four decades. We spent another day with him in his room.

We decided to spend the night in Barrie while my huaband spent the night at the hotel with Dou. Flo also stayed her third straight night at the hospital. Flo and I slept on the reclining chairs. It was uncomfortable but we spent a few good hours talking about families and catching up with one another. Flo was understanding and let me sleep in the chair by Don's bedside. Knowing this were his last few hours, I held his hand and tried to savour the few moments we had left together. How I loved my dear dear friend! These were the most precious hours I spent with my best friend of 40 years. Tough we didn't want to see him go, we also didn't want to see him suffer.

Thursday --- I hardly slept at all last night but it was time to leave around noon time. We needed to be in Waterloo by 3pm to get ready for our program for the young people in the evening. I held my friend's hand for the last time; S, Flo and I held our hands together and I said a prayer and thank you for the last time. I kissed my friend good bye knowing that it could be our last time together. As this was our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, we prepared a turkey dinner and shared our Thanskgiving customs and traditions with the U.W. students at our home. We were preoccupied with the dinner preparations and were happy that it went well and everyonhe had a good time.

Friday --- Rosaana came over to our Waterloo house to visit for a while at around 10 a.m. In the middle of our conversation, Flo called informing me that Don passed away around 12 a.m.the night before. My best friend of 40 years passed away just a few hours after we said our good bye to him at the Barrie Hospital.I broke down and sobbed in front of Rosanna. I knew his end would be soon but I didn't expect how much the news of his death affected me. It affected me profoundly. I will miss my dear friend! My family and I will miss you so much! We are grateful for all the love and support all these years! Love you and you will be in our hearts always! RT, Royal Victoria Health Centre Barrie/ Waterloo Ont. Canada 10082024