Things have not been well here at Islay Corners Photography. I have been overwhelmed with life events of late and I am slowly returning to my life to normal. I had hoped to build this year on last year’s successes however, that was not to be.
I headed home in June for a short whirlwind trip to see my dad for Fathers Day. At the time I had hoped that his health which had been slowly deteriorating from lung cancer would slow to a crawl however that was not to be.
In mid May, my Dad suffered a spell that mimicked a stroke. He spent a week in the hospital and received the diagnosis that we feared since his initial cancer diagnosis last October. His aggressive form of cancer had spread to his brain. His doctors’ ordered 10 sessions of radiation of which he was in the midst of when I traveled home for my visit.
As I sat enjoying our Father’s Day dinner, I could not help but wonder if this would be his last Fathers Day. He was struggling with his emotions and experienced several bouts of anger and confusion. He could not stand for long periods and walking was a problem. In hindsight, we have wondered if the cancer had spread to his bones as well.
I knew there was not much time left however, what I did not know is that the end would come much sooner than anyone could have anticipated.
Less than 48 hours after I returned home, he suffered a grand mal seizure that sent him to the hospital. He never left.
My father lost his battle with cancer July 4th, 2014.
The last few months have been a bit of a blur of phone calls, sleepless nights and boxes of Kleenex.
In the coming months, I hope to offer a limited number of sessions and start fresh and new in 2015.
Thank you all for your patience and kindness this year, it is greatly appreciated.
The photo below is one that I took to use for my thank you cards. The hay and daisies were taken from one of the fields on Dad’s farm. The Massey Ferguson model tractor was used to hold the flowers/hay as a funeral arrangement. Back when the farm had cattle, my Dad was known as the Midnight Farmer who drove Massey Ferguson machinery whose logo was a large MF.
