Grandpa Sanders passed away this morning October 22, 2014 in the Emergency Room at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. Robyn and Scottie and I were there when his life ended. We said goodbye to him for all of his other children.
Dad wasn't well yesterday. From the morning and throughout the day he suffered with diarrhea and couldn't keep any food or liquids down. Later in the day he complained of pain in his abdomen. He went to bed early but couldn't sleep. I checked on him often and each time he complained about being sick and not knowing what was wrong.
Finally about 9:00pm I decided to take him to the ER to at least get him some relief from the pain and to get some fluids into him by way of IV.
As soon as the blood work started to come back the ER Doctor knew that something was seriously wrong with dad. His white blood cell count was very high, indicating an infection of some sort, probably urinary tract, and his triponin (heart enzyme) was at a level consistent with a heart attack.
The Doctor began to ask me questions about how to treat him that made me wonder if this was really a serious thing and so I asked him. Dr. Vogel said that dad probably wouldn't be going home from the hospital.
I went over to talk to dad, (this was around 11pm I guess) and reassured him that I was still there. I saw his eyes roll up and he stopped breathing and almost immediately afterward his heart stopped beating. The Dr. called a "code" and dad was immediately surrounded by about eight Drs and nurses and they started doing chest compressions. They did them for a long time, trading off, maybe 10 minutes or so and I thought he was gone. But then someone said that he had a pulse and his heart started beating on its own again and he started breathing again.
While all of this was going on, I sent texts to my brothers and sisters to let them know. Robyn and Ron started on their way to the hospital, but I wasn't able to reach Sheri or Todd. I apologize, I tried calling too.
Robyn made it just before Dad's heart stopped again. They began chest compressions again. That was so hard to watch. Robyn and I looked at each other and put our arms around one another's shoulders and both agreed that we didn't want this for dad. They may have been able to revive him again, but he was in trouble. His organs were shutting down and he wouldn't have had any quality of life. We told them to let him go. He took his last breath at 12:27am.
When I have thought about what dad wanted most, it was to die with his dignity intact. He didn't want to be helpless and a burden on others. So this was a blessing. He is with mom and his brother and sisters and parents and his grandson Daniel again.
Dad lived an exemplary life. I am so proud to be his son. He left us all a wonderful legacy.
Love, Scott
After this email was sent, he told us that since mom was in the hospital at the time, they were able to wheel her down to be with him before he died, so she was there when it happened too. I loved my grandpa. What a great man he was. I am so glad that I knew him. He gave me my Patriarchal blessing on my 16th birthday, and I've always thought I was so special because my grandpa got to bless me. He lived such a great life, and I am proud to be a descendant of his. As soon as I heard, I couldn't help but feel so happy that he was with my Grandma again. What a blessed reunion that must have been! I also felt deep sorrow and relief for my parents, who have been living with him, and taking care of his every need for the last couple of years. It has been hard on them, but also so rewarding. And it was nice for us to be able to see him more often because of that.
His funeral was Monday, the 27th, and it was a beautiful day. All of the talks about him were just perfect, and I was honored to be able to sing with Julia. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have that we will see Grandma and Grandpa again.
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| Grandpa's children at the funeral |
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| And at the graveside |
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| All of the cousins who were able to make it |
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