Rest in Peace

This evening Jen's grandfather passed away. She got a phone call from her dad about 7pm letting her know that her 81 year old Grandpa Twogood had been taken to the Anaheim Hospital a few hours earlier and was currently being life flighted to USC Medical Center.

We have known for about 20 years that Grandpa Twogood had a lodged aneurysm in the blood vessels in his heart, and some day that aneurysm would burst and he would bleed to death internally (he refused surgery to ever remove it....stubborn man in some ways, but he had already done major bypass surgery a few weeks before Jen was born back in 1977). This is what happened....the aneurysm ruptured and a small tear formed in his aorta. He wasn't in much pain, but was just complaining of chest tightness. Once he arrived by ambulance to the Anaheim hospital the entire surgical staff assessed the situation. Normally they could do open heart surgery and give my grandpa another chance at life...but Grandpa was too weak and they feared he wouldn't live from an attempted surgery. They sedated him, and prepared to life flight him to a more advanced hospital that could put a stint in to try and stop the rupture from continuing to bleed out internally. He made it to the next hospital but passed on before they procedure could be performed.

Three hours after we learned what was going on - we received the news he passed on, he didn't survive. My grandfather had bleed to death internally from the heart. When a close family member dies - the first feeling that overwhelms Jen is regret. At this point she regretted not making a trip to Southern California in the past year so her grandfather could meet his forth great grandchild (Logan). She regretted not talking to him on the phone more during this past Christmas time. She regretted not writing more letters to her grandfather. After a few days - the regret fades and the peace returns. Peace of knowing that he is no longer in pain. Peace of knowing he is now in the same place with his wife who passed away from a ruptured aneurysm in the brain immediately following open heart surgery just 8.5 years earlier. Peace of knowing he is now with his daughter who passed away four months ago from liver failure. Remembering the great times she had with her grandfather - the week long summer visit trips, the Disneyland visits, the Birthday and Christmas cards and hand written letters, the visit to her at BYU while she was in college, the continued support and love and gratitude shown for the many accomplishments I have made in my life.

Grandpa Twogood - you will be missed.