Veggiflections - Food for thought. Part 6
It was around 3pm, my phone rang. “ Rene.. Daddy asked me to call the family because he wants to say goodbye.” Goodbye for what, where was he going?
In loving memory of the man that taught me to never stop smiling. Trevor Claude Roberts 07/06/1953 - 29/09/2017
That smile..
My Dad was known for that “Colgate smile” he proudly wore on his face. Come rain, hail, sunshine in sickness and in health it was always there, this he will forever be remembered for.
The week before..
Eventually we got my Dad’s Doctor to send through the motivation letter to the medical aid, took long enough but it was sorted. I was cc’d in the email and something told me to open the attachments which I did. A simple form which only needed boxes to be ticked and a signature line, so why couldn’t this be done on the same day as we requested?
A little scroll down, the question “life expectancy” Dr Oncologist – replied 2 months! Now I don’t know if anyone reading this right now had ever seen something like this or even felt what I did as I was reading that my Dad only had 2 months left with us. Furious, frustrated and confused emotions all at the time, it’s something you can barely explain. This Doctor thought he was God!
The Hospital..
This chapter was written from a point of Love. We only had four months with our Dad, and hopefully after reading this you might have longer. Please do research on the medication that is being sent home,ask questions and don't be afraid to tell your story.
I just landed back in Johannesburg when my Mom called to say my Dad had one of the worst nights, they never slept one wink all night due to my Dad having to throw up every 30 minutes. Skin on bone, frail and totally dehydrated I feared that my Dad would not make it if he didn’t get some form of hydration therapy ( IV drip), we tried everything but everything that went in came out almost immediately. I called the Doctor and explained what had happened, we agreed that an ambulance would fetch him and that he would come in for the removal of the shunt (pipe stuck in his stomach) and for hydration drips enough to stabilise the fluid loss of the previous night, the Doctor agreed that my Dad would be there for max 6-8 hours.
I booked an emergency flight back to Cape Town the very same day and arrived at 21h00 that evening. My mom and I then rushed to the hospital to visit my Dad and bring him back home.
Okay now this, this people will shock you because what happened once we arrived at the hospital was highly illegal and downright disgusting unethical malpractice. As we entered the ward and asked to see my Dad, a very abrupt nurse replied, “NO, no one can see Mr Roberts right now because I am administering his medication”. Medication? What medication?? I politely explained that I flew in from Johannesburg to see my Dad, and then asked her “who prescribed the medication?” this was not what I had agreed with the Doctor in charge. I demanded her to stop all the medications and that I would call my Dads “Doctor” immediately. I threatened lots of stuff if she didn’t do as I told her, dirty looks and all she agreed.
A very confused Doctor answered my call. I asked him why my Dad was being given all the medication (pictures attached) and he insisted that he never prescribed any of it? “but your name is on the folder as the prescribing Doctor, how could you go against your word after everything we had been through, and all the medications that you forced my Dad intravenously?” he then replied that the emergency Doctor who had seen my Dad earlier that day had prescribed all the pain, nauseous and sleeping medication.
My issue was that Dr Oncologist’s name was written boldly as the prescribing Doctor, so how could some other Doctor be prescribing medication to a patient of another Doctor?
This got me thinking, if this type of thing was happening in these hospitals it surely wasn’t the first time, and my Dad wasn’t the first patient either. They just got away with it previously because no one had to the tits to ask any questions. Amongst the medications prescribed and infused in the hydration drip was something for nausea, when I googled the name it came up as a dehydrating compound which were only administered to patients who had or were going in for chemotherapy? Why was my Dad given medication for chemotherapy patients and why were they infusing it in the hydration IV drip? And why would you administer further dehydrating medication to a patient who is already severely dehydrated? This I believe was not the first time he was given this compound. My Dad never had any chemotherapy treatments. My dad never once complained about being nauseous, but yet he was given this in the IV drip. We trust our Doctors and always think that they have our best interests at heart. Well this was not the case. We are just another number in their eyes.
I made a vow to myself that this story would be told, I would not be quiet about this type of malpractice, people need to know what they do to our loved ones in those terrible hospitals. I will say this again, we are just another number and if we are ill they will make sure we stay that way until they drain every last cent out of your medical aid fund.
As we left the hospital that evening I made sure that Nurse “abrupt” knew that I would be fetching my Dad early the next morning, she just shook her head and couldn’t even look me in the eye.
I was up at 5.30am the next morning, got ready and made my way back to that dreadful hospital, my Dad just woke up and greeted me with the biggest smile I had ever seen. We waited patiently for the Doctor to arrive so my Dad could be discharged, of course he was late but as time went by I was just glad that we would get him out of that prison of negativity. I remember my Dad telling me that the man across from him had crazy dreams and kept screaming through the night about “Die Boere”? the other guy kept coughing, and not a normal cough, it was a cough which sounded like “die roggal” (a distinct cough of someone who is about to die) the other guy kept demanding his “pap”. All people that were on the last, so you can imagine how happy I was that my Dad would be leaving that very day. The Doctor eventually arrived and acknowledged my Dad and I, but went to see the frail “pap” patient first. That check-up took less than a minute and it was our turn. We greeted and the Doctor told my Dad that he was given strict instructions by the “Boss” (which was me) to not prescribe any more medication, but then slyly asked my Dad in front of me if he still wanted medication for nausea or pain? My Dad never complained at any time about being nauseous or that he was in pain, but the Doctor kept pushing him about medication. (that was enough to make me want to hit this guy with a panga) how dare he undermine and disrespect our family so blatantly.
Well I guess he forgot that I had all the proof of his illegal actions of the previous night, proof of the file with his name on it, and proof that the medication he was prescribing my Dad all along the four months was more detrimental to his health and that it caused all the major side effects which my Dad suffered from.
After all that had transpired the night before, my Daddy losing his speech due to the drowsing effects of the medication administered at the hospital, we vowed that my Dad would never ever step foot back there again.
We arrived back home and 1 hour later my Dad was speaking and laughing like normal again. (a moment I will treasure forever)
Angel’s..
HP put us in contact with a private facility, new Doctors, new nurses new everything. I was in Cape Town all that week and made sure that all my Dad’s medical files were transferred to the new Doctor in charge. Nurse Jean called me to set up the first home visit, a compassionate polite lady who understood exactly what we as a family was going through. We agreed that she would administer hydration therapy at home and all routine check-ups would be done in the comfort of my parent’s home the next day.
Wednesday morning arrived and we were all excited for Sister Jean to arrive, the night before wasn’t too bad, and my Dad still made a joke saying that he hopes this Sister is as good looking as HP. Sister Jean arrived promptly at 10am as she promised, a lovely lady with a warm spirit and a big smile entered my Dad’s bedroom, and he returned the greeting with an even bigger smile. We were happy that he would now receive the much-needed hydration therapy treatments in the comfort of his home, he looked happy and content and couldn’t stop smiling. I had to call my sister, all I said to her was “Vikki, I think God sent us an Angel” and started to cry.
I had a few errands to run for my parents so I would be out for most of the day, it was also the same day I was booked to fly back to Johannesburg. By the time, I arrived back to my parent’s house, Sister Jean had already left and my Dad was resting like a baby.
My Mom and I sat in the kitchen for a little while before it was time for me to head off to the airport, and I saw how sad my Mom was that I was leaving again. Kissed them both goodbye, exchanged I love you’s and said I’ll see you soon. With a heavy heart, I had to go back home.
Restless..
I woke up that Thursday morning confused, dazed and even more tired, mustered the energy to take my girls to school but then got straight back to bed when I got back home. I just couldn’t understand why I was so tired. I slept my normal eight hours but still it was like something just pinned me down to my bed. I called my Mom around 12pm to check up and see if everything was okay, she replied by saying that my Dad had one of those terrible nights again and that he didn’t sleep well at all. I felt terrible for leaving.
The new Doctor Shelly was scheduled to visit my Dad at 1pm that afternoon, their meeting went well and he seemed fine after the visit.
It was around 3pm, my phone rang. “ Rene.. Daddy asked me to call the family because he wants to say goodbye.” Goodbye for what, where was he going? They were only scheduled to move to Johannesburg in three months, so what was my Daddy asking the family to come around for? My Mom was unbelievably calm, and did what my Dad asked of her. I wasn’t. How can he want to say goodbye when I was just there with him yesterday? Vikki didn’t even see him yet so where was he going?
I WhatsApp called and managed to speak with my Dad, my Mom right next to him. We just stared at each other through the phone.. all I could say was, “I love you Daddy..” he replied, “I love you more and more..”
I just laid in a daze after that call, a few hours went by and the doorbell rang. I had forgotten my sister Vikki and her husband Shaun said that they would come over. It was around 8pm and we decided to WhatsApp call my Mom and Dad together. Our parent's house was full, family members from everywhere, everyone was there. My Mom made us say hello to everyone first and left my Dad for last. Vikki and I shared one screen. He looked tired.. but happy that everyone was there to say goodbye. We tried to have a conversation, but could barely hear anything he tried to say, all we could make out was “I love you my girls”. The roggal (death rattle) sound became louder, and I kept asking what that sound was as it wasn’t there earlier in the day when I WhatsApp called my Dad.
My sister Vikki and her husband Shaun stayed with me till around 11.30pm, we just sat reminiscing on our days growing up, remembering all the fun times we had as a family, praying that everything would be okay, praying for a miracle.
00h15, 29/09/17..
I couldn’t sleep, my phone was on silent but it was as if I knew it was going to ring again. At exactly 00h15 and as I looked at my phone it rang. “Mommy calling.”
“Rene.. Daddy has just left us.”
I had no words, emotionless and still. I just went quiet...
“Mummy everything will be okay. I will call Vikki and Gonda to let them know. I’m coming back tomorrow, I love you very much.”
None of us slept that whole night, Vikki and I would take turns to call my Mom every 30min, we weren’t there and she needed us and we needed to be by her side.
My flight was booked and I was back in Cape Town for what was going to be the slongest (shortest/longest-I just made that up) two weeks of my entire life.
The funeral went off well, the boat send-off was perfect, just what my Daddy would have wanted and thanks to the Captain of the Sea Princess we could scatter my Dad’s ashes in the Atlantic Ocean the day before we would journey back to Johannesburg.
The link to my Dad sent home> https://www.facebook.com/ReneRobertsPatel/posts/10159323589135234
A very Special guest..
My Dad spent 16 years of his life as the Chief Engineer on the Sea Princess, a luxury catamaran that would sail from Cape Town Waterfront to Robben Island every day.
They were happy to have us. Family and friends were invited to celebrate my Dad’s life. My Dad really showed us something that day. his favourite song was “I did it my way” and he went all out and showed us exactly how it should be done.
The link to the most beautiful send-off you have ever seen> https://www.facebook.com/ReneRobertsPatel/videos/10159299627750234/
My Mom, Vikki and myself all had a turn to say a special word for my Dad, but what I saw on the screen behind me after watching it several times blew my mind.
As I said.. and today Daddy I want to thank you... this vision appeared on the tv screen behind me.
(The TV was switched off)
The link to the full speech> https://www.facebook.com/ReneRobertsPatel/posts/10159302994895234
Orbs..
I only found out days after my Dad’s passing what all these strange sightings were. They would appear in all my pictures.
Yes we see you... 🙏🏽 #ourgardianangel #ourdaddy
What are orbs? Chances are, you've probably seen them before--they are the curious translucent or solid circles (usually white) that appear unexpectedly in your photos. Orbs may appear in different sizes, as a single spot or as a multitude of spots grouped together.
Some people believe that orbs are more than dust particles or drops of moisture on the lens--they are proof of guardian angels, captured on camera. When these "spirit orbs" or "angel orbs" appear near a single person or a group of people in a photo, it's a sign that they are blessed with the goodness, positive energy, and protection of angels.
When orbs appear in a particular location, it's also a sign that angels are hovering nearby and the location is particularly blessed.
Daddy...Thank you for the light... we love and miss you. Till we meet again.
Love and Light always
René
Please share this post with your friends, feel free to comment below and if you feel that this story resonates with you or something you have been through, sign up to my blog and all future stories will be emailed directly to your email.
xo
