Well, yesterday was probably the last time I'll see my uncle alive. I was aprehensive about the visit, but all in all it went ok. (You can find the back info here http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/152688/1.ashx and here http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/152696/1.ashx)
We got to the hospital and my three cousins were there with their children (who I haven't seen in many many years). Another relative was in visiting when we arrived so we waited and chatted in the family room for awhile.
When it was time to go in, he genuinely seemed happy to see me, opened his arms for a hug and patted the bed beside him for me to sit there. I took his hand and at first he didn't know what to do, but then said I could hold it and keep it warm for him. I had tears in my eyes, but held it together pretty good.
We sat like that for quite a while, sometimes he'd doze off, or just lay there resting , then he'd kind of wake up and start talking, mostly about his condition and the stand he took on not having blood. He said "now we all know how special I am, only 2 in one million people get this condition". He talked about giving a witness to whoever he could in the remaining time he had left.
He said without treatment he'd live one to three months, but it's obvious it won't be much longer. His daughter said they are seeing him go downhill more each day. It was only on Friday that he was diagnosed with this, it's all so fast!
With radical treatment and regular blood transfusions, he'd have anywhere between 1-3 years. The top Dr in Canada that specializes in this condition saw him on Friday, and said if he wasn't going to follow the treatment protocol that he could do nothing for him. The Dr in the hospital said pretty much the same thing, so now it's just keeping him as comfortable as possible.
My family are hard core JW. They talked about how because of his stand he's guaranteed a resurrection and they will be doing everything they can to be there when he comes back. How we have to make the "new system" real to us and not think that it's so far away and not strive towards being in it. They are already talking to their children and saying things like "what do you want to do with grandpa in the new system". One of the grandkids made a card that said "I can't wait to see you in the New System". They all said what a great example he is giving the grandkids with his stand for no blood, what a great heritage he's passing on to them. I think this was the hardest part of the whole visit for me.
When it was time to go, I hugged him again, kissed his cheek and told him I loved him. He didn't say it back, but did hug me for a few seconds longer.
BB