All,
I wanted to make sure that each of you had a link to the obituary in today's News & Observer. You can view it here. I believe they have a way for you to leave comments if you'd like-- but please know that this is totally optional-- I just wanted to make sure you had the information.
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we have made the funeral arrangements. We hope to see you there if you are able to make it, but we totally understand if you will not be able to. I also wanted to pass along a couple of links to you. As many of you were aware, dad served on the national board as an executive officer for the American Society of Plumbing Engineers. Dad was passionate about his profession and was very proud to contribute to ASPE in any way he could. Well, today I came across two Web sites for ASPE that have very nice remembrances of dad on their home pages. Here are the links:
America Society of Plumbing Engineers home page: http://www.aspe.org
ASPE Charlotte Chapter: http://www.aspecharlotte.org
There may be others, but these were the ones I saw as incoming links to dad's blog, so they were the only ones I had available. On behalf of our family, I want to thank each of you for the ways in which you've helped us and remembered dad in the past few days.
As always, thank you and we hope to see you soon.
The Parks Family
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Funeral Arrangements
Hello all. We've just returned from a full day of meetings to plan and prepare for dad's funeral. Here's what we've lined up:
- Visitation. The visitation will be Tuesday, May 12 from 6-8 p.m. at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home in Garner. The address is 1200 Benson Road, Garner, NC 27529.
- Funeral. The funeral will be Wednesday, May 13 at 2 p.m. at Aversboro Road Baptist Church in Garner. The address is 1600 Aversboro Road, Garner, NC 27529.
- Graveside Service. The service will be immediately following the funeral service on Wednesday. It will be held at Montlawn-Pinecrest in Clayton. The address is 12830 U.S. Highway 70 West, Clayton, NC 27520.
Several of you have asked about sending flowers. If you need a recommendation on a florist that is in Garner, you are welcome to contact Special Arrangements Florist in Garner. You can reach them at (919) 779-2000.
Thank you for your continued support and we hope to see you tomorrow evening at the visitation.
PS-- please don't forget to send me your "Norm Story" if possible!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The End
At 5:06 a.m. this morning, John Norman Parks went home to be with the Lord. Dad died peacefully at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, N.C. surrounded by his loving family. We are saddened to lose dad's presence here on earth, but we are comforted knowing that at this very moment he is sitting at the feet of the Lord, praising His name and is no longer suffering in any way.
We thank you for your support in this battle during the past six months and we give thanks and praise to God for his tenderness and mercy during this time.
We thank you for your support in this battle during the past six months and we give thanks and praise to God for his tenderness and mercy during this time.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Remembering a Happy Time
All-- Dad's condition is pretty much the same now as it was yesterday evening. The only difference is that the medical team has put an oxygen mask on him to assist him with pain-free breathing. I will keep you updated if anything changes.
I do appreciate those of you that we've heard from regarding your "Norm Story." Since I posted that item yesterday, I've thought a little more about it and I'd like to ask you to send me your "Norm Story" via e-mail. I'm not exactly sure what I'll do with them right now, but I'd love to have them if possible. You can send them to jondparks@gmail.com. I greatly appreciate your willingness to share your stories about dad.
And speaking of sharing, I have a couple of photos to share with each of you (side & below). Last Saturday was my daughter's 4th birthday. She was very excited about her birthday because it would be at Rolesville Park and would involve birthday cake! But we were excited, too, because we knew that mom and dad would be able to come over that morning to watch Anna run around and play with all of her friends and they'd get to see Ryan working on taking steps as he gets closer to walking on his own.
Well, we had a great time. Dad was doing quite well and enjoyed every minute of it. Mom got to hold Ryan's hands and walk around under the picnic shelter. And towards the end, we took two photos that I'll always treasure. One is of Dad and Ryan with Dad looking down on him and the other is of Mom, Dad, Melinda, Anna and Ryan. In retrospect, it seems as though one of the things that dad was holding on so he could be included in was Anna's birthday. That was special and I'm glad that it worked out that he and mom were able to attend.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday Afternoon Update
All,
We just met a while ago with the hospice nurse and with Dr. O. Dad's condition has digressed throughout the day. He has a lot of fluid that is settling in his lungs and it is causing him to cough quite a bit and to be unsettled. They did an X-ray of dad's chest to see if he has pneumonia, and while we haven't heard of the results, they believe this to be the case. Even if that turns out to be the situation, it is likely that we won't treat it as this is part of those final stages. The Hospice nurse did let us know that based on the signs she's seeing, she doesn't believe it will be much longer. That's tough to write, but we know that it is ultimately what is best for dad. Naturally, I will keep you updated on the latest.
I do have one request of each of you. We've heard a lot from many of you during the past several months and it seems that everyone has at least one favorite "Norm Story." We've laughed at many of those, and shed a few tears over some others, but I don't want those stories to be forgotten. Would you write them down? I'd like to be able to hold on to those as a way for each of us, and especially my children, to have a good understanding of dad. I know that dad has touched many, many lives and I want to be able to carry those on into the future.
Thank you for your love and support. We continue to welcome visitors if you would like to come by.
Much love-- The Parks Family
We just met a while ago with the hospice nurse and with Dr. O. Dad's condition has digressed throughout the day. He has a lot of fluid that is settling in his lungs and it is causing him to cough quite a bit and to be unsettled. They did an X-ray of dad's chest to see if he has pneumonia, and while we haven't heard of the results, they believe this to be the case. Even if that turns out to be the situation, it is likely that we won't treat it as this is part of those final stages. The Hospice nurse did let us know that based on the signs she's seeing, she doesn't believe it will be much longer. That's tough to write, but we know that it is ultimately what is best for dad. Naturally, I will keep you updated on the latest.
I do have one request of each of you. We've heard a lot from many of you during the past several months and it seems that everyone has at least one favorite "Norm Story." We've laughed at many of those, and shed a few tears over some others, but I don't want those stories to be forgotten. Would you write them down? I'd like to be able to hold on to those as a way for each of us, and especially my children, to have a good understanding of dad. I know that dad has touched many, many lives and I want to be able to carry those on into the future.
Thank you for your love and support. We continue to welcome visitors if you would like to come by.
Much love-- The Parks Family
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Update: Thursday Afternoon
All,
It is 4:30 in the afternoon and I wanted to take an opportunity to give you a quick update on where things stand. Dad was moved into a regular room in the hospital (5th floor of Rex Hospital) late yesterday afternoon. He's been on a fairly high dosage of diloden to help ease the pain (morphine wasn't strong enough) and he's pretty much been asleep for 24 hours now. He's occasionally unsettled and gets restless in bed, but after we work to get him repositioned, he gets settled once again.
Mom, Cassie and I met with a team from Hospice of Wake County this morning. We asked yesterday for dad to be referred into the care of Hospice here within the hospital. The people we met with were very helpful and extremely gentle. They patiently answered our questions and provided us with insight into how they can help in the days to come. As of now, we are currently under the care of the Hospice team in addition to the team at Rex. That basically means that we will get visits from the Rex nurses AND a nurse from the Hospice team (though we haven't had a visit from a Hospice nurse other than our meeting this morning). Additionally, we are waiting for a room to open up within the Hospice unit here at Rex. There are six beds in that unit and the accommodations are a little better than a regular room (including for the family).
The Hospice team provided us with some materials on what to expect in the coming days. Hospice has a nice booklet that they've created titled "Gone From My Sight: The Dying Experience." Some of the symptoms we can expect to see would be lots of sleeping, picking at clothes (unable to get comfortable), trouble with congestion/respiration and a decrease in blood pressure. There are many, many more signs in the booklet, but they are too many to list here. While it is difficult to have these types of conversations, it is also helpful as knowing some of what to expect can take away some of the confusion/fear.
As I've been writing this post, Dad woke up briefly. He let mom know that he wanted a sip of water. As I walked over to be in his line of site, he saw me and gave a simple "hey buddy," which is the normal way he's always referred to me. It was wonderful to hear that phrase one more time.
We've been very fortunate to have a few visitors the past 24 hours. In fact, dad's sister Ann Cox and my Uncle Pete are here visiting now. We are truly blessed to have wonderful family and friends such as all of you. I do want you to know that you are welcome to come by for brief visits, but please be aware that the visit will mainly be with Mom, me or Cassie.
Lastly, I want to ask that you will remember each of us in prayer, including Cassie's husband Josh and my wife Melinda. Josh and Melinda have been tremendous supporters for each of us during the past 6 + months. A lot of times they have been in the background taking care of us when we can't seem to go on and making sure that life continues on as normally as possible. Melinda, in particular, has worked very hard to take care of Anna and Ryan-- our children-- by patiently answering Anna's questions and making sure that they get to do all the "normal" things that a four year old and soon-to-be one year old (on May 18) would do. That's not easy.
So, that's the latest for today. I hope to have more news soon about being moved to the hospice unit. Once I do, I'll post an update. Thank you for your prayers and support.
It is 4:30 in the afternoon and I wanted to take an opportunity to give you a quick update on where things stand. Dad was moved into a regular room in the hospital (5th floor of Rex Hospital) late yesterday afternoon. He's been on a fairly high dosage of diloden to help ease the pain (morphine wasn't strong enough) and he's pretty much been asleep for 24 hours now. He's occasionally unsettled and gets restless in bed, but after we work to get him repositioned, he gets settled once again.
Mom, Cassie and I met with a team from Hospice of Wake County this morning. We asked yesterday for dad to be referred into the care of Hospice here within the hospital. The people we met with were very helpful and extremely gentle. They patiently answered our questions and provided us with insight into how they can help in the days to come. As of now, we are currently under the care of the Hospice team in addition to the team at Rex. That basically means that we will get visits from the Rex nurses AND a nurse from the Hospice team (though we haven't had a visit from a Hospice nurse other than our meeting this morning). Additionally, we are waiting for a room to open up within the Hospice unit here at Rex. There are six beds in that unit and the accommodations are a little better than a regular room (including for the family).
The Hospice team provided us with some materials on what to expect in the coming days. Hospice has a nice booklet that they've created titled "Gone From My Sight: The Dying Experience." Some of the symptoms we can expect to see would be lots of sleeping, picking at clothes (unable to get comfortable), trouble with congestion/respiration and a decrease in blood pressure. There are many, many more signs in the booklet, but they are too many to list here. While it is difficult to have these types of conversations, it is also helpful as knowing some of what to expect can take away some of the confusion/fear.
As I've been writing this post, Dad woke up briefly. He let mom know that he wanted a sip of water. As I walked over to be in his line of site, he saw me and gave a simple "hey buddy," which is the normal way he's always referred to me. It was wonderful to hear that phrase one more time.
We've been very fortunate to have a few visitors the past 24 hours. In fact, dad's sister Ann Cox and my Uncle Pete are here visiting now. We are truly blessed to have wonderful family and friends such as all of you. I do want you to know that you are welcome to come by for brief visits, but please be aware that the visit will mainly be with Mom, me or Cassie.
Lastly, I want to ask that you will remember each of us in prayer, including Cassie's husband Josh and my wife Melinda. Josh and Melinda have been tremendous supporters for each of us during the past 6 + months. A lot of times they have been in the background taking care of us when we can't seem to go on and making sure that life continues on as normally as possible. Melinda, in particular, has worked very hard to take care of Anna and Ryan-- our children-- by patiently answering Anna's questions and making sure that they get to do all the "normal" things that a four year old and soon-to-be one year old (on May 18) would do. That's not easy.
So, that's the latest for today. I hope to have more news soon about being moved to the hospice unit. Once I do, I'll post an update. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Latest
All,
Just a quick update to let you know that we are currently at Rex Hospital. Dad's condition has been going downhill for the past few days as he's been sick to his stomach, unable to hold down food, very weak and sleeping quite a bit. Well, this morning when I got over to mom and dad's house, dad was quite weak and he got sick once again. The difficulty here is that he had not eaten anything. Additionally, this meant that he couldn't keep his medication down. So, we talked and he told us that he's tired of fighting and he no longer wanted to push ahead with any treatments. Dad was quite concerned about making sure that mom was taken care of and that Cassie, Josh, Melinda, me and the kids would be taken care of. We assured him that we would be fine. We also talked to him and told him that deciding to stop treatment is not a sign of defeat-- that it was merely the end of this phase and the beginning of the next, that God would be waiting for him in heaven and ready to welcome him. As many of you know, Dad has a strong faith and he knows-- he has assured us all-- that he has put his faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
So, we're at the hospital now in the Cancer Center and waiting for a bed to be opened up in the hospice unit on the Oncology floor of the main hospital. We greatly appreciate your prayers-- specifically that God will cradle Dad in his arms and provide comfort. Thank you for your continued support.
Just a quick update to let you know that we are currently at Rex Hospital. Dad's condition has been going downhill for the past few days as he's been sick to his stomach, unable to hold down food, very weak and sleeping quite a bit. Well, this morning when I got over to mom and dad's house, dad was quite weak and he got sick once again. The difficulty here is that he had not eaten anything. Additionally, this meant that he couldn't keep his medication down. So, we talked and he told us that he's tired of fighting and he no longer wanted to push ahead with any treatments. Dad was quite concerned about making sure that mom was taken care of and that Cassie, Josh, Melinda, me and the kids would be taken care of. We assured him that we would be fine. We also talked to him and told him that deciding to stop treatment is not a sign of defeat-- that it was merely the end of this phase and the beginning of the next, that God would be waiting for him in heaven and ready to welcome him. As many of you know, Dad has a strong faith and he knows-- he has assured us all-- that he has put his faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
So, we're at the hospital now in the Cancer Center and waiting for a bed to be opened up in the hospice unit on the Oncology floor of the main hospital. We greatly appreciate your prayers-- specifically that God will cradle Dad in his arms and provide comfort. Thank you for your continued support.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)