El Centro,, CA - Aloha to Lug

Yesterday we said Aloha to Hawaii with tongue in cheek and today we say Aloha to Lug with a sad and heavy heart since we loved him dearly. While we were getting breakfast, we got a call from Tom, Dawn’s husband telling us that Lug had died. He had taken a turn for the worse over night and wasn’t expected to live much longer. Since he had made the decision long ago to forego radical measures, Dawn and Cathy, along with the doctors thought Hospice was the best situation for him. They moved him to the Baber Hospice House and a few hours later he died.

Now, let me tall you about Lug and the Baber House Hospice in Fort Dodge and how appropriate it was for him to die there. When his wife Darlene was dying of pancreatic cancer, because there was no actual Hospice House in Fort Dodge, she had home health care from Hospice. They had all the equipment to make her feel comfortable, they came every day and their goal was to help as much as possible and to make her as comfortable as possible. They couldn’t have been better. Lug and Darlene both thought they were wonderful. Several years ago, a new Hospice house was built in the south part of town near where Lug lives. He went over there every day and took pictures to document the growth of the building. His last pictures of this were of the landscaping and the planting of trees. He put countless hours into his project: taking the pictures, loading them into his computer, arranging them and finally making a booklet of these pictures to give to the Baber Hospice House. He deeply appreciated the work that Hospice had done for Darlene and him and was thrilled that there would be a special hospice house that could help countless others like hospice had help them.

Thus, it was so appropriate for him to spend his last hours there. But, my that was fast. So fast, that it’s hard for us to wrap our heads around the fact that he is gone. Especially since we are so far away. On the other hand, I think it went fast for Cathy and Dawn, too. None of us expected this. The last time we spoke with Lug on the phone a few days ago, he sounded chipper, had just written 3 letters on his computer and was talking about his current plans.

All we can do now is just keep on getting home, though now we have a different sense of urgency.