Maeryn and Johnny were able to visit Pops in the hospital
on their last trip to AZ before his death.
It was a very sweet visit and I'm so grateful for the love they shared.
I wish they could have grown up knowing him they way I have,
but I will do everything I can to keep his memory alive with my kids.
Potts was in town visiting Pops one last time while we were there too. :-)
A few pictures of Dad's last Mayo Clinic hospital stay...
There were teams of doctors that came in and out checking his symptoms
and giving very thorough evaluations.
Dad has some skin rashes that developed over the course of the last few
months of his life. These rashes were a result of the TCell Lymphoma and the
Doctors kept close tabs of their size and textures.
Eating some hospital sorbet...
BUT it was almost time to check-out and go home - whoohoo!!
Getting ready for final chemo treatment, he poked a hole in his face mask
for his juice straw because he kept trying to take a sip and just ramming
the straw in to his mask because he forgot he was wearing it, lol.
Dad was a super-trooper!
Pops' dogs Maverick.
He was a big 'ol sweetheart and he loved his owner so.
Maverick had some health issues too, and did not have a very good quality of life
(with some very expensive medications to boot) so we made the decision to put
Mav down when Dad moved in to Hospice. He was a good boy and I'm sure he
happily greeted his old man once they were reunited on the rainbow bridge!
Dad's week in hospice (5 days) brought many highs and lows.
It was extremely emotional and exhausting at times, and very relaxing
and peaceful at other times. Dad had a few visitors throughout the week,
and most of the time when people would come to see him he would perk right up
and be his usual polite, happy self. Always trying to make sure his
guests felt comfortable and entertained.
A lot of the time though, he would just lay in the bed or on the recliner and sleep or just rest.
We listened to a lot of Van Morrison and other classic rock on Pandora.
There were flowers and photos and scented air fresheners in his room,
it was peaceful and even to the very end, despite the incredible pain
he was suffering and debilitating drugs he was taking,
his personality shined through most of the time and we were able to soak up every
last minute of the man we loved so dearly.
On one of his first days at the Hospice of the Valley there was a huge
monsoon storm. Dad LOVED the rain and had been waiting all summer
to find out if his new gutters that he installed earlier that year were working properly.
I ran to house for him and checked, and they worked like a charm! ;-)
We opened his patio door and turned his recliner around, he seemed
so content to just sit and watch the rain.
Dad had to make sure he still looked his best, even during his last days...
We brought in a hair stylist to give him a fresh cut,
and Drew even tried out his barber shaving skills on the old man too!
Dad was an avid bird watcher. He had been as long as I could remember.
He had bird books constantly laying around on his coffee table and
about a dozen bird feeders on his back patio stocked with various
brands of food for all of his feathered friends!
His favorite visitors to his back patio were the extrememly rare to the desert
Peach Faced Love Birds. These birds would flock to his yeard on occasion and he was always so thrilled to see them when they came (and would tell anyone who would listen about how amazing they were and how unusual it was that they were in AZ in the first place).
On the morning of 8/22/14, there were at least a half dozen peach faced love birds that
were fluttering around on Dad's hospice patio.... the significance of those birds
showing up there on that patio, on that day is so very special.
It was a gift from God.
His good friends came by to see him one last time. :-)
Dad took his very last breath around 5:15pm on 8/22/14.
Mal, Drew and I were all with him and said some prayers together
as we said our final goodbyes to this man who meant the absolute world to each of us.
Just a few short moments after he passed,
there was another incredibly special visitor on his hospice patio.
a red cardinal bird was perched on top of the bird feeders.
Of course we all know that cardinal birds can represent death and many people
even believe they are a symbol of a loved one who has passed coming for a visit.
In all of my time growing up in Phoenix and for the years that I have gone back to visit
I have never seen a cardinal bird in the valley, except on that day.
My dad was my biggest fan, he loved his kids with the truest most unconditional love.
He LOVED being a dad.
Everyone who knew my dad knows that was his proudest accomplishment in life.
He told me the week before he died that he would be my guardian angel
and watch over me and my kids... it broke my heart to hear him say those words
but I take comfort now in knowing how true they are.
I'm doing by best to make you proud dad.
I can still hear you saying "atta girl!", just from a very different sideline now.
Malachi Patrick Kenney III
October 27, 1946-August 22, 2014
The memorial tree that friends and neighbors planted in our yard.
Caught Maeryn saying prayers "to Pops"...
Dad's gravesite today...
