RA>Good.  I'm glad to hear that he is getting hospice care.  It will take a
  >tremendous burden off his family who are, after all, trying to deal with
  >the imminent loss of a loved one.  That's more than enough without having
  >to also provide round-the-clock care.
He passed over peacefully.  The memorial service is today. I am really
glad that he was able to have those final days at home surrounded by
folks he loved, and who loved him.  It was an emotionally and physically
exhausting time; but it was also a wonderful time.  Mario was talking
about this entire experience a couple of days ago, including the
conflict with the medical profession.  He said, "You know, with all
the deaths I've seen, this is the first time I've *really* understood
what the whole *death with dignity* talk is all about."
RA>It is hard enough being 13 or 14 without having added trauma.  I suspect
  >Rob realizes that to see a loved one on his deathbed would be an
  >emotional overload that he believes he might not be able to handle.  And
  >who is to say he is wrong?  I lost my father when I was 14 and was
  >sexually molested by one of his co-workers a few months later.  I am
  >still trying to sort through that part of my life and deal with it.  It
  >was definitely too much trauma for me to handle at that age.  I hope Rob
  >is able to handle this new loss better than I handled mine.
I agree that adolescence is a particularly rough time, without having
other things go wrong.  I am sorry that your early teens were so
traumatic.  I suspect that Rob will have become an adult before he is
truly able to sort through all these emotions; and come to terms with
them.
                      Sondra
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 þ SLMR 2.1a þ A clean house if the sign of a cluttered mind.
--- Opus-CBCS 1.7x via O_QWKer 1.1
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