Newspaper Obituary

To be in the Vancouver Sun on Saturday, January 31st, and Vancouver Province on Sunday, Feb. 1st. A longer version with names will be in the Kelowna Courier on Satuday, January 31st.

Predeceased by Kay and Vera, four sisters; survived by three children, their spouses, eight grandchildren, one great-grand daughter, numerous family and friends. Dad was known for his humor, music, unselfishness, and love for others. Funeral is at Springfield Funeral Home in Kelowna Feb. 2nd 10 am. A Memorial at Church of the Nazarene, 9012 - 160 St. on Feb. 7th 2 pm.

Kelowna Service

Funeral Services will be held at Springfield Funeral Home, 2020 Springfield Road, Kelowna, BC on Feb. 2nd at 10 am with a graveside service and reception to follow.

Just a bit of information. An open casket will be set up in the viewing room by 9 am. When people come in, they are given the opportunity to pay last respects.

The family meets here ahead of the service. At 10 am the casket is closed and the minister prays. Then the casket is wheeled into the chapel, the family will follow it in and the service commences. The cemetery is about 10 minutes away from the funeral home.

Spread the Word

Please let other people know the service dates posted in the obituary below. If you are able to attend it would be helpful if you let me know, so I can plan what is needed for the reception. You can do this by e-mailing me at lenygaard1@shaw.ca or by phoning our home with a message.

Many thanks to all of you who are supporting the family with prayers and understanding. Much appreciated.

By the way, here is the contact information for the Gideons. For those who come to the memorial, donation cards will be available.

The Gideons International In Canada
501 Imperial Rd. N. • Guelph • ON • Canada • N1H 7A2 • Tel: 519.823.1140 • Fax 519.767.1913 • E-mailinfo@gideons.ca• Bibles-By-Phone: 1-888-482-4253 • ©2009 Gideons. All rights reserved.

Springfield Funeral Home

Dad's funeral will be held at the Springfield Funeral Home in Kelowna. I have arranged for dad's remains to be taken to Kelowna. He should be in Kelowna by tomorrow night. The funeral home has a chapel, a viewing room and a reception hall, which will be available to us.

I have not yet set the date but will post as soon as this information is available.

Now I need to see about a memorial in Surrey. I want to do this to honour and respect the friendships and connections that he made here.

January 19, 2009

Dad went to be with the Lord at about 11:15 am on January 19th. His passing was peaceful with family members holding his hands. Christian music was playing from an old Moody Bible Institute program that he had recorded years ago.

We are missing Dad and always will.

I have to make arrangements yet and will keep everyone posted as I know more. As yet, I do not have a timeline. Some sure things

-dad will be buried next to mom in Kelowna
-there will be services in Kelowna and in Surrey

Dad wanted memorial donations to be made to be made to the Gideon Bible Society. Donations may be made by phoning 1-888-482-4253 and paying by credit card. I am also trying to get some mail-in donation cards/envelopes from the Gideons to be available for the services. Such donations will be preferable to flowers.

January 18, 2009

I have not been home and did not have computer access so was unable to give updates. Right now, the Respiratory specialist has kindly allowed me to update this blog.

I have had consultations with five doctors including the Respiratory specialist within the last few days. Dad has very little time left unless there is a miracle. The odd patient does rally.

He is suffering respiratory discomfort, which gives the sensation of drowning. He is going to be given low dosages of morphine to relieve this discomfort and take the edge off what is happening to his body.

He may have oral fluid or food if he wishes. The IV with the multi-vitamins and glucose will be continued, so he doesn't starve to death. He is not strictly NPO

Some medications will be discontinued and most that are continued will be administered through an IV. He will keep the
-nitroglyceral patch
-lasix for heart failure
-cream for fungus on his skin
-fluconazole for chest fungus and antibiotics to treat pneumonia
-CBI (continuous bladder irrigation) will be continued because if clot travels to bladder it is extremely painful
-blood pressure meds have been stopped as his bp is so low
-warfarin will be restarted to thin his blood. The heparin was discontinued last night due to bleeding from the mouth.


Last night I learned that his heart is enlarged by 30% from what it already was. The pneumonia on the right side is worse than the day before and he has a lot of free fluid in his chest.

His kidney function is at 50% which is not terrible
He has a breathing problem but he is not gasping for air, so this is considered to be moderate

The goal is to keep him comfortable. If he survives tonight he will be moved to palliative care, which is either in the hospital or in a separate building across the street.

Early January 15th

Karalyn and I stayed at the hospital until about 2:30 am. We noticed that he has thrush in his mouth from the overuse of antibiotics, so treatment was started for that. He is uncomplaining about his condition and says he isn't suffering pain.

January 14th

More bad news today.

From the doctor.

Dad's condition is "precarious" and he has a "poor prognosis."

Here is a list of some of his ailments:

-intractible heart failure (irreversible)

-20% of heart pumping

-some kidney failure

-low blood pressure and build up of fluids

-groin full of fluid

-breathing at a faster rate than normal

The doctor is amazed that he is able to eat at all and for that reason is continuing to receive medical treatment. The chance that he will recover is slim, and if he does recover, he will be in a wheelchair and have a poor quality of life. Although he is still lucid, the doctor said that he expects something to happen within the next two weeks such as bleeding, a heart attack, or a stroke that will affect his thinking.

January 13th

Dad had a ghastly day today. I didn't take a picture.

He started coughing blood at one point a third of a cup. His whole right leg from the top to the bottom is a blood clot. Now he is on two blood thinners which will cause the clot to dissolve into his system.

On a more positive note, he was able to eat most of his dinner and settled down comfortably for the night.

January 12, 2009

Dad gets ventalin three times a day for 15 minutes a session. It helps clear the respiratory tract. He had another chest x-ray today. His legs are still swollen especially his right. He was able to walk to the door of his room with two people supporting him. Karalyn shaved him with the electric shaver which worked well. He isn't in pain other than shortness of breath.

November 29, 2008

January 11, 2009

Today, the physiotherapist was working with him when I arrived, and he left dad sitting up. Dad sat up for about an hour, but he wasn't too well. He is VERY discouraged with his condition. In some ways he didn't look as well as yesterday.

Yesterday, January 10th

I thought dad was a little better than the day before and certainly better than last week. He sat up for a while in the afternoon and ate most of his dinner, which was a fair-sized plate of food. He also ate a container of Activia which I brought for him.

He is able to talk on the phone but is in isolation so the only phone that he can use for long distance is my cell phone. If you want me to have him phone you, e-mail me the approximate time (my time) and the phone number you want to be contacted at. All distractions are good for him.

Yesterday I hooked up the tv, so he could watch the Canucks get beat by San Jose.

I am going to the hospital now, so will post again later.

Lorraine

First Post

The title picture was taken of dad when he was in the Langley hospital. He was there from December 13-20, 2008. He was taken by ambulance to the Surrey Memorial Hospital on December 22 at 7:30 pm. It was a night to remember in the busy emergency ward. Karalyn and I waited with him until a doctor saw him at 3:30 am, December 23rd. He was admitted with pneumonia.