I just noticed this thread here. I would like to thank everyone who has donated to the cause. It seems that my mom and sister will come out with more than when they went down with. We obviously cannot replace our one in a million dogs, or my one ever father, but with everyone's generous donations from friends, family, and people around the world my mom and sister have come out with
So far 200 dollars on Paypal from you fine people
One of my uncles ex-wives donated 1000 dollars and some furniture
My mom's work so far has gathered 1600 in donations, and a customer who owns a corporation will double the final donation number
Waffle House (my parents second home) has gathered over 100 in donations from friends
A co-worker of my mom has land that she sold and had a 40ft 2bdrm single wide mobile home in the back of the land. The guy who owns it now is selling it to them for 500 bucks
Another customer from my mom's work has offered to tow the trailer as his donation as well as another customer has offered to clean up the mess on the land free of charge
A very close family friend had a bobcat donated to him so he could help with clean up
So many of my, and my best friends family and friends have donated bundles of clothes, furniture, appliances, silverware and other various things to help get them back on their feet
Red Cross had given my mom and sister a debit card with some money, and paid for 2 days at a hotel down the road from the hospital.
They will start with 2 brand new full bed room sets, bath sets, and an abundance of kitchen ware as well as 3 washer and dryer sets, 2 fridges, 2-3 extra mattresses, and another stove or 2.
Needless to say we have all been in tears with the amount of help we have been getting. It is so overwhelming how helping people have been with our cause and it makes me feel so good how loved my father was between his friends.
Anything and everything that is not used will be donated back to Red Cross and Good Will so somebody elses life/lives can be restored like ours has.
To be clear on information from start to finish. The night of the 3rd my gf was having severe stomach problems and so I decided to stay up all night to make sure she was ok. I drove to my parents house (about 2 minutes) to pick up some medicine my mom had prepared for her. My mom and father where at home with their 4 puppies. Me and my father had previously been fighting but I had gotten over it. Still, nothing was said between each other. For some odd reason I decided to make my stay extended, talk with my mom, and love on all the dogs ALOT. When I left, nothing was said between me and my father. If anybody knows me in person, they know that this is against myself in every way. I stand by "Always say good bye, always say I love you". At about 5am my gf's aunt came by to pick her up for a doctor appointment and then they asked me to go with them. We didn't get back until 10am of which we went straight to sleep. About 2 hours later we where awoken by a very muffled hard to understand phone call from my sister. All we got was alot of crying and "Our babies!!". I instantly threw clothes on and we got in the car. We started driving down the road and we saw smoke coming from their direction so immediately we switched so I could haul *** over there. When we arrived my father, my sister, and her bf where on the side of the road crying. When I got out of the car I saw they where crying but ok so instantly started running for the house for the dogs only to be horrified by the site of nothing left. When I ran back I started to ask wtf happened and my dad collapsed so I then screamed for a medic. (Please, no Starcraft joke). My sister told me to hurry and get mom since she was at work. We got there and was called and told to go to the hospital which was a 10 minute drive from there. We arrived and where told he was in ICU and not doing so well. The past 2 months he had a severe case of acute pneumonia as well as having a life long case of bronchitis. He naturally had low blood pressure which was clearly documented in every visit, and he was a pretty heavy smoker since his teens. He had a severe heart attack and they had to put him in a medically induced coma due to fighting the breathing machine. He was on alot of blood pressure meds, and a heart pump to keep him going. We where in the hospital for 2 days until they ran a CT and EEG scan and then pronounced him dead at 6:15PM on the 6th.
My family had lost the house I grew up in January of 09 which was a 2200sqft 4bdrm double wide. After that, they lived in a 27ft 1978 Winnebago that had alot of problems. My dad was mimicking my idea of building box's in which they had their washer/dryer, fridge, alot of possessions, which was attached to their RV. Everything had gone in smoke including 1/4 of their storage box which had literally everything they owned. We believe my dad had given up after knowing his babies (puppies) had perished in the fire and we think he died in my sisters arms on the side of the road before even being taken to the hospital. They had to resuscitate him for about 30 minutes which caused brain damage which clinically made him dead. In the end, we all think he just wanted us all to have a better life and a closer life.
I know I shouldn't but I beat myself up every time I think about it. I should have done what I always do and just give him a hug, say good bye and I love you even if he didn't say anything back. I will always live with this on my shoulders even though I know he loved me like no other. I know he was very proud of my accomplishments in music and computers...and just about anything else I decided to excel in. That feeling will still never go away, knowing I had a chance before it happened. So what I have to say is, even if your family, friends, loved ones, or parents are mad at you, you're fighting, or you're not on speaking terms please make sure you let them know how you feel. I would never want anybody to experience what I'm experiencing right now. My advice is to just suck it up, and tell them I love you even if they don't say anything back. I always grew up knowing anything can happen and if it does, it's for a reason. Well to add on to that, I never leave without saying good bye or I love you. Never give life a chance to give you regrets.
I am not a religious person but my mom and sister are. So please, if you say prayers they are not without appreciation or meaning. They mean something to me, because it's the thought that counts to me. It shows you care and I really do appreciate that. So for the final time, thank you everyone for everything. I don't think I will be leaving these forum ever again due to the kindness shown to me. I hope that if I ever get the chance I can reciprocate in my own way.
The Memorial Concert is being held at my house this Saturday. If anybody here on the forums that lives in the DFW Metro area wants to come, please PM me and I will give you my address so you can attend. We will be spreading his ashes by Cessna over the stage so he can soar like the eagles. I would post the obituary but it has my address of which I do not want public on the forums. Instead I will post this picture of us.
And a well known picture of him.
R.I.P "The Soundman". We will miss you until we see you again.