My life changed completely on September 10, 2011. My Glenn got home from Afghanistan on July 18. He had lost a lot of weight, twenty pounds, in six months. He looked tired. "Everyone looses weight there. I will put it back on" He seemed OK. He was having a lot of indigestion, saw the flight surgeon, got prevasid.
We started getting ready to move to Patrick AFB for his assignment to be the Opps Group Commander there. His job was starting the end of September, but since school started the 10th of August, our 15 year old son, Ross, and I moved down on the 8th of August. The week before we left, Ross had injured his foot on a ATV, so he was on crutches starting at a new high school. He knew no one. We just kept saying it would be much better when Glenn got there.
I rented a small house with a small fenced yard, across the street from the Ocean. I could walk to the beach in 2 minutes. Glenn came down a couple weekends and we went up a couple weekends. Labor day weekend Ross and I came up and finished packing what we needed to go to Florida. the rest was going into storage until we sold the house in Georgia and bought one in Florida. On Monday Ross and I drove the truck loaded with 3 dogs, 3 cats and a bird down to Satellite Beach.
Glenn Drove down on Thursday the 8th with a U haul full of appliances and furniture, fabric and my Gammill. We unloaded the truck, and set up the washer and dryer, freezer, connected TVs. Glenn went to work on Friday, preparing to take command later that month. On Friday night we went to a retirement party for one of Glenn's friends. Saturday Glenn went to work the his reserve weekend, but he came home after lunch saying he wasn't feeling well. I wanted to go to urgent care, but he said that he had just gone to the doctor. He couldn't lay down, because of the indigestion, So he and Ross put my Gammill together.
We were supposed to go to a function that evening so I started a load of laundry to wash his shorts and the washer connection was leaking. I went in the house and told him. He went out to the garage. I was getting my clothes ready to go that night when I wondered where Glenn was. I looked out back, then I went to the Garage. I saw his feet, like he was laying down on the floor. The young man that lived next door was walking up his driveway with his surf board. I yelled to him that I needed help. then I opened the door to the house and told my son to call 911. The young man, Seth, and I started CPR. The first one there was a motorcycle cop. Then the Ambulance got there. They worked on him for what seemed like forever, but my concept of time isn't good. they took him to the hospital.
When Ross and I got there they took us to a room separate from the waiting room. I knew it wasn't going to be good news. We waited. I called his friend who's party we had been at the night before. He and his wife got there after they told Ross and I that Glenn hadn't made it. They took us back to see him. It is really still unreal to me. The group of people at Patrick AFB were wonderful to me. There were probably 15 of them at the hospital that night to help me deal with it. A Chaplain, the General, the person in the wing who was assigned to me to walk me through all of the paperwork and she set up the funeral. I called my oldest Daughter first, then his Dad, that was the hardest phone call. Then my sister and one of his friends from the AF Academy. I told him he would have to make the rest of the calls. My daughter and sister got to Florida on Sunday. The Patrick people were great, by Friday they moved us back to Georgia. His dad got here on Saturday, my mom and second daughter got here on Sunday and the funeral was on Monday the 19th.
My sewing room is not set up, my two Kaleidoscope quilts are not finished. My Gamill is in the garage waiting for the room to be ready for it. I really do not know when any of this is going to get done.
I keep waiting for this to be real for me, but I am having a hard time convincing my heart. My life was centered around him. Everything we did was because of what he did. He was a wonderful husband, a great dad. He was a Colonel in the Air Force. He flew rescue helicopters, saved lives in Afghanistan. He was my Hero and my biggest fan. He loved showing my quilts to people. He was as proud of me as I was of him. I know he is in a "better place", but he would rather be here with me.
