Oct. 16, 2000-Dad felt a little under the weather. Not sure why. Lena told him to leave their store which they took great pride in and go home and get some rest.

Oct. 17, 2000- Dad was feeling worst. He told Lena that he hurt and was sore under his left arm. She looked at it and noticed that it had a reddish color to it. She then took him to the doctor's. From there they sent him to Southern Maryland Hospital where they gave him local pain medication and opened the area. They informed Lena that it was an abscess and that he would have to remain in the hospital for a day or two on antibiotics. They didn't know what caused the abscess but they would monitor him and she could go home for the night. That night after returning home she called and left me a message that Dad was at he hospital and that he didn't want anyone to know that was normal for him to tell her that. He didn't like people to see him sick. But she called me anyway.

Oct.18, 2000- Lena called me and told me to go on up and see my dad. On the way to take my son to school she called back crying telling me to get to the hospital as soon as I could because they told her that they moved him into ICC. I then rushed to the hospital not knowing what I may find. I waited and waited, finally they allowed me in to see him. I was devastated at the sight of my dad on life-support and in septic shock. All this was running through my mind while the nurse was telling me that he arrested at 5:30am and they didn't call or anything else. This was now after 10am and I was coming up to see him and make him laugh to pass time for these antibiotics to do their job and go home. That was not going to be the case. As family arrived along with my step-mother we then went in to talk to the doctors. They ran some test and consulted with an infection doctor, who came in and examined dad. He requested that we fly him to Maryland University Hospital where they have better chance of saving his life. So we did. We drove in separate cars to Baltimore, and again waited and waited.........They operated on him again and let us in to ICC to see him and informed us to go home for the night. They also informed us that it was "Necrotizing Fasciitis" how affected the body and that he was critically ill. The main thing at this point was to save his life!!!! The days went by. They operated, they medicated, they informed, we looked on and prayed.

The 19th, 20th (Lena's birthday) we spent at the hospital. I remember picking her out a card was so hard because the only thing that could make this her special day was to bring my dad out of this nightmare. the 21st, 22nd, and so on. After the first 7 days or so, I started going back to work during the day (he would have wanted me to, being a business man) and going up at night. Lena on the other hand tried to keep the store running and with the help of great employee's was able to make that happen. Dad suffered up days and down days. Halloween came and went. Lena and I started talking about all the updates and the way things seem to be getting worse. We then together made the hardest decision that I believe and pray we will ever have to make. We called a meeting with the doctor to express our feelings to take My Dad and her Husband out of this pain. The doctor informed us that they had done all they could and that he just wasn't going to make it.

On Nov. 6, 2000 at approximately 3:30pm Lena, myself, Sonny (her brother) David (my best friend) stood my his side, both of us holding on the one hand, gave him our blessing to go ahead and let go of this pain and someday we would meet with him on the other side. It only took minutes for our lives to be changed forever. As I told him on that day "He is and will always be my hero" he will be missed by so many and will be loved always.

His Loving Daughter,