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Topic: Help (02/20/06)
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TITLE: THANKS PAPA | Previous Challenge Entry
By ROBLYN R SCHWARTZ
02/25/06 -
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The continuous rocking noise awakened me. “Where was the ominous sound coming from?” Opening my eyes in the darkened den, I scanned for its source. PaPa’s blue-gray recliner pumped back and forth, back and forth. “Wait just a second, PaPa,” I responded slipping my bare feet to the floor. My father-in-law’s 6 foot 3 inch frame struggled to be released from his recliner. The two of us managed to place his hands on the nearby walker and slide his body forward to a standing position so he could navigate to the bathroom. I walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water. Ready to return to the recliner, PaPa opened the bathroom door and called out, “Rob!” His body weight bent the walker’s metal frame as he lunged full force to the floor. Shocked and shaken, I grabbed the phone and dialed my husband John. He called both AAA Ambulance and Scott, our son, who lived only a few blocks from PaPa’s house. Then my husband jumped into his Suburban and raced to his father’s house.
Sitting on the bedroom floor with PaPa’s head nestled in my lap, I reassured him help was on the way. His unmoving eyes and unresponsiveness signaled a serious situation. Because PaPa was a diabetic, I wondered if he had lapsed into a diabetic coma. The paramedics revived PaPa just as John arrived. With sirens piercing the quiet night, PaPa was rushed to Forrest General Hospital. The Schwartz family assembled in the ICU waiting room. Susanne and Tommy, Allison and Ryan, Tommy, Cheri and Connor, Scott and Elizabeth, and Robert and Brandi joined us in an around the clock vigil. A respirator kept PaPa alive. After 36 hours in ICU, tests revealed no brain activity. PaPa had suffered a brain stem stroke. The family requested the respirator be removed. PaPa slipped away peacefully January 31, 2005 through the gates of Heaven.
Johnny Schwartz loved his family. He supported his wife, two sons and daughter as a bricklayer, as manager of Walnut Street Pharmacy, as an independent petroleum landman and in later years as an abstractor of mortgage titles. A man of many talents, Johnny’s hobbies included photography, pen and ink drawing, macramé, and oil painting. As a young father, he taught his three children to fish in the Jordan River near Bay St.Louis, MS. Johnny enjoyed making his own lures and plastic worms for bait.
His interest in others was genuine. Twice a day he checked in with his local friends over the ham radio network. As a member of the Hattiesburg area ham radio club, Johnny participated in meetings and the annual field day. On my father-in-law’s desk lay stacks of cards mailed to him from radio operators around the world. Thumb tacked to the wall over his desk was an enlarged world map. Red, blue, green, yellow, orange and black stick pins indicated each international radio contact Johnny had successfully completed. PaPa and I scheduled quality time together each week. On Tuesdays, we feasted on Goal Post sandwiches and salads as we shared our daily lives. On Friday nights, John joined us for seafood at Mac’s Fish Camp. On Sundays, PaPa drove to our house in Petal for lunch. After lunch, father and son discussed oil business updates while watching sports on TV. Then PaPa dropped by to visit his daughter Susanne and her family before returning home for his Sunday afternoon nap. Over the 45 years I’ve known Johnny, he continually offered help and support to me. In my memories, Johnny Schwartz remains a gentle giant. He was a man who loved his family, had a strong work ethic, cared for his fellow man and developed a special relationship with his daughter-in-law. Thanks for your love and help, PaPa.
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