Cancer took my dad!

Fundraising campaign by Paula Ott
  • US$110.00
    raised of $5,000.00 goal goal
2% Funded
2 Donors
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Mom & Dad's Story

This began as wanting to raise money to help my mom and dad while my dad battled prostate and bone cancer; however, after finally losing his battle on January 17, 2017 this request will continue, but now to help my mom go on.

My parents were married for 53 years and never asked anyone for anything. They always gave and gave. They gave so much that they had (& now my mother has) nothing left for herself. (They were always too full of pride to admit how hard life was and would NEVER ask for help; therefore I was asking for them.)

My father was on his own since he was 12 years old because he did not have the type of family children should have (& there were 18 kids in his family). My mom is from Germany and married my dad when he was stationed there with the army. They have worked, and worked hard, everyday of their lives! They did very well for themselves and for us three kids. I never wanted for anything my entire life growing up.

I moved from Ohio to Va Beach after high school and once I got married and had my first child, my parents moved down here to watch my son. Little did I know this was not the best financial decision for them, but they were being selfless once again and knew I couldn't bare the thought of my baby in daycare. Due to certain circumstances they had to purchase a home in Camden, NC. This meant they had to drive over a hour each way, EVERYDAY to watch my son. And they did it! Not only for him, but all 3 of my children for 13 years so they never went to daycare, before school or after school care, or came home to an empty house.

Everyone knows my mom as Oma (German for grandma) and everyone knows she is like an angel on earth. If anyone could walk on water, it would be her!!! My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer over 5 years ago and it lead to bone cancer. It was a long, painful road for him. However, it was emotionally and mentally painful for my mother as well. To watch the man she spent your entire life with suffer every minute of every day and not be able to do a thing about it. She stayed by his side, in their home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the very last breath. They say the last thing to go is a person's hearing and they also say that people hold on until certain people are with them before they leave this Earth, well I am here to tell you that it is all true! My dad hadn't moved or done anything for a week and the minute I got there, I held his hand, and began reading him a letter I wrote to him, he lightly squeezed my hand and his mouth grinned. He did the exact same thing with the next three letters I read to him, each one from one of my three children. Exactly six hours later as my mom was trying to put drop by drop of his medicine down his throat as she had been doing for weeks and months (because she promised him that she would never put him in a hospital or leave him), he opened his eyes and looked directly at her. She said, "I'm here honey. I promised you that I would never leave your side and I won't. I love you." With this, he took a breath and closed his eyes.

I am asking for help for my mom to help put her life back in order. I would like to ease her mind a little, at least of money burdens. She needs to know that she has worked hard enough and now needs to rest a moment. I want to tell her that my dad's services are going to be paid for and any remaining medical bills are taken care of.

My parents had NEVER done anything for themselves! They had never even had a vacation!!!! My mom has told me many times that she and my dad had always dreamed of going on a cruise to Alaska. She said that since she moved to America at 18 years old she has wanted to see Niagara Falls. She has dreamed of going on a cruise with her grand-kids or going to Atlantis. She wants to take her granddaughter to Disney World because she has wanted to go since she was a child and lived in Germany, and I know she desperately wants to go back to Germany one more time (she always talks about taking me and my three children-her grandkids- and sharing her culture). I know I cannot do all of these things for my mom, not even close but I hope to be able to do SOMETHING to make this time a little more bearable and take some burden off her mind.

I thank you for taking the time to read this abbreviated story of my parents journey and I hope that someday you have the opportunity to be blessed by two people as wonderful and giving as my mom and dad.

Organizer

Donors

  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Oct 01, 2016
  • I am happy to help and I encourage others to do so as well. What an incredible family!

$100.00
  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Sep 23, 2016
  • SWAK

$10.00
Feb 10

We will forever miss you daddy!

Update posted by Paula Ott at 10:32 pm

Cancer took my dad on January 17, 2017 at exactly 2:00am. My daddy fought cancer with every ounce of his being and never gave up until the bitter end. They say people can die twice; the day they leave this Earth and again the day people stop talking about them.

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Donors & Comments

2 donors
  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Oct 01, 2016
  • I am happy to help and I encourage others to do so as well. What an incredible family!

$100.00
  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Sep 23, 2016
  • SWAK

$10.00

Followers

1 followers
Paula Ott
US$110.00
raised of $5,000.00 goal
2% Funded
2 Donors

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