My dad died a couple of weeks ago. He had pulmonary fibrosis, a lung condition most likely caused by exposure to dust over his 50 years as an electrician. He lived a good quality of life since his diagnosis but struggled through the last few months. He quickly deteriorated over a few days in hospital and died with my mum and me by his side. His funeral was on Friday.
I just wanted to put something up to say thanks to our friends and family for all their support. The visits, cards, flowers, phone calls, texts and messages have helped us both through a tough couple of weeks. As of yesterday, my mum and dad's house looks like a Paperchase exploded in the Botanic Gardens.
Thanks also to the NHS. Every doctor, nurse, specialist, consultant and tea-trolley driver who helped my dad, despite his insistence that they not make a fuss, was amazing.
I also wanted to write this for any friends / workmates / students / social media pals who hadn't heard what's been going on. My dad was a pretty private person and shoehorning the situation into conversations and/or writing about it on Twitter wasn't something I wanted to do. The distraction and respite you unknowingly provided me with has been massively important.
Right now, I'm fine. Right now my mum is fine. Right now Alex is fine. Sometimes we're not fine but then we're fine again after a bit. We've totally been able to laugh and joke and watch TV and stuff. Everything's fine until it's not.
I'm back at my desk in Glasgow after a couple of weeks at home in Stirling. Big love to my clients for their patience and understanding. I've a lot to catch up on, organise and reevaluate but the plan is to ramp back up to business-as-usual as quickly as I can.
Someday I'll probably write more about my dad. He was a good guy, you would've liked him. I'm proud to be his son and I miss him.