05-20-2025, 04:32 AM
My father passed away last week. He was not only my father, but also my friend.
My father, like all the men in his family, was a smoker who had his first heart attack in his mid to late 40's. He was given five years to live at that time. He continued to smoke. As a surgeon, he should have known better.
He had his second heart attack at age 62, and was diagnosed with end-stage COPD at that time. "I can't detect your lungs by x-ray, nor by physical exam," he was told by his pulmonologist, "and your pulmonary function tests show you are approaching the end of your life. You need to stop smoking." He continued to smoke.
He had his third and final heart attack at age 80, undergoing quadruple bypass surgery at that time. He quit smoking cold turkey. His pulmonary function and cardiac tests improved significantly. The downside is that my father stopped being able to talk as fluently; combined with a progression of his hearing loss, the daily telephone conversations we'd had for years came to an end. Still, just saying "Hi!" over the phone to let me know he was still around was always lovely.
In March of this year, my father had a fall that he never recovered from. He died last week at age 97 (!) from complications of the fall. This is 17 years after his bypass surgery, and 50 years after he was given just 5 years to live.
Rest in peace, J. Pupp, my father, friend, and hero. You are, and always will be, much loved, and much missed.
My father, like all the men in his family, was a smoker who had his first heart attack in his mid to late 40's. He was given five years to live at that time. He continued to smoke. As a surgeon, he should have known better.
He had his second heart attack at age 62, and was diagnosed with end-stage COPD at that time. "I can't detect your lungs by x-ray, nor by physical exam," he was told by his pulmonologist, "and your pulmonary function tests show you are approaching the end of your life. You need to stop smoking." He continued to smoke.
He had his third and final heart attack at age 80, undergoing quadruple bypass surgery at that time. He quit smoking cold turkey. His pulmonary function and cardiac tests improved significantly. The downside is that my father stopped being able to talk as fluently; combined with a progression of his hearing loss, the daily telephone conversations we'd had for years came to an end. Still, just saying "Hi!" over the phone to let me know he was still around was always lovely.
In March of this year, my father had a fall that he never recovered from. He died last week at age 97 (!) from complications of the fall. This is 17 years after his bypass surgery, and 50 years after he was given just 5 years to live.
Rest in peace, J. Pupp, my father, friend, and hero. You are, and always will be, much loved, and much missed.
