This has been one of hardest weeks we have had in a long time. Given all that we have been through recently, that is saying something. Tuesday night I was trying to fall asleep when my phone rang. On the other line was Emily and she was completely hysterical. She said something had happened with Tala and she was headed over, but it didn't look good.
Wednesday morning we learned many more details. Tala had had a heart attack. The EMTs worked hard to revive him but he had gone somewhere between 10-30 minutes without oxygen to his brain, but we didn't have a lot of information about the long term prognosis. I was supposed to leave around lunch time to go to my company's winter retreat. I talked to Emily and asked if I should stay home. She said there was nothing I could do and I should go. That turned out to be a terrible decision.
Before I could even arrive in Bend, I learned just how bad things were. Tala was showing no neurological response and while they are keeping him alive with life support, they had a DNR should he have another heart attack.
By that evening, his organs were shutting down and they decided to remove life support. Tala passed around 9pm Wednesday night, less then 24 hours after having the heart attack, and I truly believe he was actually gone long before that.
The next 36 hours were beyond miserable. My family was falling apart and I was stuck three hours away falling apart and trying to still participate in work meetings.
I finally got home on Friday afternoon. I wish I could say that things got better after I got home, but that was just the beginning and time to get to work. There is so much to be done from funeral planning, to dealing with the house, cars, business, and most importantly, supporting Kalani. To say that the community has rallied around Kalani is a gross understatement. He is being held up and support from every imaginable angle.
There is so much to be done, but we have a plan and we are working it. Various members of the family have very conflicting emotions about Tala and his passing, but I truly hope he is resting well on the other side. Until we meet again, Tala.
I'm sharing one of my favorite Tala pictures. This is the Tala I want to remember, Here he is painting little C.C.'s fingernails.
