Rest in peace, Ben.

Brian was a son of a firefighter and according to his mother, there was never a question about Brian following in his father's (Edward Sweeney) footsteps.  Brian studied rescue for years and when he was assigned to Rescue 1 Manhattan, it was a dream come true.  Source, Legacy.com.

Brian's family postponed a memorial service for him because they prayed his body would be found.  They scheduled a memorial for November 27 but time was running out because they still hadn't found Brian's body.  However, on November 26, his family was notified that they discovered a body but were not sure if it was Brian or not.  Not having time to wait for DNA tests, they relied on identifying Brian's distinctive tattoos to confirm that the body was in fact, Brian.  As I read the story on Brian's Fund Website,  I knew that God and Brian had a hand in finding his body in time for the memorial, to have a proper burial and give some closure to his family and loved ones.

Although losing Brian was a tragedy, he served his country with honor by giving his life so others might live.  He was and still is an true hero as he lives on in many hearts. 

Thank you, Brian and my heart goes out to your family and all who loved you.  Rest in peace.

Yesterday afternoon, Mom needed to run a couple of errands and Dad wanted to stay home and watch one of his favorite shows, M*A*S*H and take a nap.  She left around 3:45 and Dad knew to call me if he needed anything.  He called me about 5pm and asked me, "What channel is M*A*S*H on?"  I told him and then he asked me how he changed the channel and after I told him to use the remote, he asked, "Do I have to enter the area code first?"  I responded, "No, just the channel.  Do you want me to come up and fix it for you?"  Then I heard static and knew he'd messed up the TV/Satellite somehow so I directly went upstairs.

I found him in his recliner, the TV turned off, and him trying to dial the phone with the receiver on the hook.  He said, "The remote doesn't do any good so I'm trying the phone."  I really wanted to laugh it off because that always makes him feel better but I couldn't bring myself to.  It hit me how bad he's been and I felt so guitly to not have been there more for him and Mom.  I know I'm sick and I don't want to get them sick too but I just hate it when my body won't let me what I need to do.

After I sorted the TV out, he wanted to watch M*A*S*H but he was worried about being able to watch the news at 5:30 so I told him I'd sort it out for him and autoprogram the satellite to change channels automatically.  You would have thought I hung the moon by the look on Dad's face. 

I mentioned it all to Mom when she got home and she said that's about par for the course and we disucussed some medication changes.  His neurologist gave her permission to increase one of his Parkinson's meds if needed but she hated to because they make him so sleepy and then it's difficult for him to function at all.  I mentioned that I think he needs an increase in the cognitive medication but we'll have to wait to talk to the doc on Sept 21. Which is another thing that makes me angry because he had an appointment six weeks ago and they had to move the appointment to then.  Don't get me started on that - despite Dad really needing to get in.  Grrr.

Then last night while talking to my sister Susie, I told her about the experience with Dad and I had a meltdown. It felt good to get it off my chest but I'm still struggling with it and I can't help but feel horrible for Mom and what she's going through. 

I pray today is a better and brighter day - just for Mom and Dad's sake because they deserves the best and to be happy.  Hopefully we'll find something to laugh about.