Monday, January 24, 2011

7 Weeks

My sweet angel baby lived up to the meaning of her name, Evangeline - one who brings good news - on her 7 week birthday.  It was, of course, sad news for my family, but ultimately good news for my grandfather that he was able to pass on to his glorious reward on Friday.
He had suffered from metastatic prostate cancer for months, and from the moment he knew that his time with us was drawing to a close one of his final wishes was to meet Evie, his third great-granddaughter.  I'd had a trip to Waco planned for several weeks, and I was originally going to arrive on January 28th.  However, on Wednesday night my mom let me know that he would certainly not make it until then.  This time Nick's crazy work schedule worked to our advantage, as he was able to drive me home on Thursday and fly back on Friday without having to take off any time.
We drove through the night on Thursday after Nick finished work, arriving in Waco shortly after 4am.  Evie did fabulously in the car - what a blessing!  We woke up as early as possible on Friday and headed to my grandparents' house.  Although he couldn't open his eyes or communicate with us, we brought Evie in to meet my granddad.  Mom helped him touch her precious little feet, and we made her cry so that he could hear her (this sweet baby is not a big crier so it was actually quite a task).  Mark, Nick, and I all got to speak to him, and then about an hour and a half later he peacefully passed away.  At the very end he was surrounded by 4 generations of Colvin women who loved him - my grandmother, mother, myself, and Evie were all there in the room when he left us. 
We all believe that he was just waiting to meet Evie before he let go.  When Mom told him on Thursday that we were on our way he miraculously moved an arm and a leg.  He'd stopped taking fluids on Tuesday so making it to Friday was a miracle in itself.  We all miss him terribly, but are so glad that his suffering is over.  Our sweet Evie angel baby released him. 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Lindsay, for making that trip. Love you! Aunt Susan

Joanna said...

So sorry for your loss. I'm so glad that you got to make the trip and that Evie got to meet him. Prayers of comfort for your family during this time.

Anonymous said...

this is so precious, what a gift. I am sorry about your mourning for a great man. ~Grace

Anna M said...

What a special time, Lindsay. I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather but it sounds like it was his time to go.

Katie and Justin Cox said...

this is such a sweet post... I love it! Sorry for your loss but what a beautiful way to go. PS: I gave you a little blog love in my recent post... check it out: http://katieandjustincox.blogspot.com/2011/01/for-my-stylish-friends.html