I hope you will all forgive my use of this medium to let you know about Clive’s death early this morning at Vancouver General Hospital at 79 years of age. He was admitted to the hospital this past Saturday due to a combination of symptoms related to his COPD and cardiac status. Various tests and procedures were administered, some of which confirmed potentially serious problems—mostly related to his heart.
I visited him every day and evening, and he was optimistic that he would be discharged one of the next few days as the problems were identified and treated. However, in the early morning hours today, he suddenly decompensated and a code was called. When I got to the hospital, the medical staff had been administering CPR (as was his stated wish) for about an hour. The physicians described his status, noting that nothing further could be done, so I said they should let him go. His heart had already stopped beating. I was able to sit with him for as long as I wished.
Some of you will know that he suffered two serious falls in mid-September and was hospitalized for about a week. Although he was discharged home, he never really recovered fully from the injuries, but he believed he would be home again this time (with extra support) after a few more days. He was consistently grateful to all levels of the hospital staff for their tender, caring assistance during his stays. The staff also fully supported me during the final moments, for which I, too, am grateful.
Our family members are gathering at our home today, and we will begin to plan a remembrance gathering. We’ll be in touch again when details are finalized.
More from Canadian Thoroughbred:
