213REKTS PLS x IsLaNdGrL x TRC's blog: "Uncle Clarence"

I just got back from vacation to the beach with my family from Grenada -- and tonight I just got a call from my Mom. I found out that my favorite Uncle - Uncle Clarence - had a stroke. I can't believe it - I just saw him two days ago at the beach... He is a vibrant man - 75 years old. It's amazing to even think that he is that "old". He's had mini-strokes in the past, but he is healthy and active. He's my mom's favorite brother and my favorite uncle. He's been there for her thru thick and thin (he was the father she never had. And on vacation... he drank me under the table! I had to laugh - I make sure that I don't accident sip HIS drink - I'd pass out (just kidding). He is paralyzed on one side and I am devastated. He's so far away that I can't be there to hold his hand and give him a kiss. PLEASE - if you read this tonight - pray for him - Clarence Searles - in Wayne NJ. Thanks guys. Thurs 8 a.m. - I talked with my Mom this morning and my uncle has been moved to the ICU. The good news is that the MRI didn't show a bleeding stroke in his brain. My relatives told us that he can't speak and that is making him aggitated. He won't let his wife go because he keeps wanting to tell her something but he can't speak. The last time I saw him - on Mon as I was leaving the beach for him - he told me he loved me and that whatever decision I make in my life they will support me. He is such a sweet man and it pains me to think of him trying to tell my Aunt Mapes that he loves her. But I know she knows this. Please continue to pray for him. I love this man so much. HE IS the loving grandfather I never had. 3:00 - I just called Mom and she was waiting till I got off from work to tell me the news. She has bought a plane ticket to Newark as my uncle had a bad night. They discovered this morning that he had bleeding in his brain all night and the docs told my family he's had too much brain damage. They said they could try surgery to relieve the pressure and swelling of his brain, but he would most likely be in a vegetative state. They said he would have no quality of life. I don't know what happens next but I imagine he's on life support. My family is deciding what to do now. Thank you everyone for your prayers - he was a good good man. He was a Whiskeyplaian Decon - our joke for Episopalian - and a very good man. He did anything he could for anyone - ministered to the sick - talked me through some rough times... and a good son to his mother who relied on her children to support herself after her first husband died (in Grenada) at the age of 27 of a stroke. I'll update everyone on when he passes and when the funeral is - it'll be in Wayne, NJ. Friday 9 a.m. - I talked with Mom this morning and she will fly out this afternoon from New Orleans. She will call the family this morning, but I assume they would have called if the hospital had called them if he had passed. They have made him a DNR in a sense - if his heart stops they will not do CPR. But if he stops breathing they will do a trach, so his son, Robert, will be able to be there when he passes away. Robert and his wife Maureen are flying in from Brisbane Australia right now - they'll get to Newark (or New York?) tomorrow morning (sat). Mom will get to Newark tonight at around 7 p.m. This is all so unreal to me, it just hasn't truely hit me yet, but I have done a lot of crying. I just can't bring myself to explain what is going on to my kids. They asked why I've been crying and I said that Uncle Clarence had hurt his leg - it was the only thing I could think of. How do I tell them when he passes away? I know, like we've done for pets, I'll tell them that he's in Heaven and he's happy up there. I'll tell them that he's up there with his Mom - my grandma Elsie (her picture is at the bottom of my profile page). I'm going to gather up the digital pix of him I took at the beach over the weekend and send to family so they can see waht a time he had. He got down in the sand and built a huge castle for my kids - and then they dug tunnels and had such a good time. That's my family though - we get down and dirty in the sand (that didn't sound right...). We don't mind the grit - we enjoy the beach so much. It has to be in the blood from being from the Caribbean.