I wish I could be better about calling people, but I am terrible at it, so maybe writing it once for many to see will be easier for me. I wanted to let you all know about my dad. Four months ago, he went in for surgery at the U. He had a tumor on his kidney and they were going to remove the cancerous part of the kidney. They thought that would be the least invasive route and easiest for recovery. They told us three to five days in the hospital. Well, he came out of surgery fine (like he always does. My dad has been through previous cancer and surgery to remove it and has always fought through it all.) A few days later, when they went to get him up for the first time, his surgery site started to bleed which caused all his vital signs to drop significantly. They pumped him full of fluids to keep him alive and soon after took him in for minor surgery to clot the bleeder. We were very worried about this but he came out fine again. All the fluids they pumped into his body saturated his lungs and made it almost impossible for him to breath though. After trying many options to help him breath, nothing was working good enough and they had to intubate him. That is such a hard thing to have to go through. You can't talk or eat. (which are personally my two favorite things to do) He was at the ICU in Salt lake for a month fighting to get better. My mom and I decided it would be much easier on all of us if we had him transferred to McKay Dee. There, he spent months fighting a very hard battle to get better. It seemed everything was always against him though. He kept having set backs with one thing or another and it put his progress further and further behind. The past couple weeks were very rough. He became very edemetis. I don't know how it is spelled? He had over 30 extra pounds of fluid in his body. That was putting pressure on his whole body including his organs. Nothing they gave him removed the extra fluid. The doctors told us his kidney were shutting down due to all the medications and treatments he had been recieving. We were at the end of the road and we knew there was nothing left to fight. The hardest part of this long battle, is the whole time, my dad's mind has stayed very sharp. He knows everything that is going on and he wanted to come home so bad. He still had so much to live for. I have never felt so much empathy for someone in my whole life. My sadness has always been for myself, but these past few months, I was able to feel the Savior's love for my dad and the love he must feel for all his children. I was in so much pain, not for me, but for my dad. I wanted to take his place so bad and let him be free of all the pain and sickness he was going through. Wednesday night, Dallin came up to the hospital where my mom and I had pretty much been camping out the past few days. He gave him a beautiful blessing that felt like the words were directly from God. That night, he passed away. I know he is in a better place and is free from pain, and that has been what is getting me through. But now my tears are for myself. After I got married, my dad and I began a wonderful relationship that I am so grateful for. He would take Bentley and me out to lunch and play games and watch movies with me when being a stay-at-home mom would sometimes get a little boring. He was always there for me and gave me everything I ever wanted in life. He taught me so many life lessons that I will never forget. I wish I had so much more time with him. Please appreciate the relationships you have with your parents. The hurt is so heavy when they are gone. I want to thank EVERYONE who has been so sweet and caring. I have recieved so many flowers and cards, and believe it or not, it HELPS SO MUCH!! So THANK YOU!!! If you are interested, we are having a memorial service tonight at Lindquist on Washington at 6:00 pm.