Somewhere over the rainbow sits...Leopoldo Pena (Leo) Garcia April 27, 1927-January 8, 2010

These are some of the pictures we dug out for the slideshow at my grandpa's funeral. I tried really hard to put all these pictures in chronological order, then my computer crashed and I lost all my work, and blog entry...arggg! So, sorry that the slideshow is kind of random. I did the best I could!

It has been just about a month now since my Grandpa Leo passed away. Most of you that are reading this know how it all began and ended, and if you don't know, I'll try and make it brief. The 4 weeks that he spent in the hospital were packed full of obstacles, but here is the shortest description of what happened.

This wasn't an expected passing. Sure my grandpa was getting up there in age (82 yrs old,) but had a mind that was as sharp as a tack still. His body however was definitely showing signs of age, especially his eyesight over the last year or so. This nightmare of a situation began right before Christmas when my grandpa was experiencing, and complaining of horrible stomach pain. Nonetheless, he ended up in ER that very same night and had emergency surgery do to a blood clot in his colon. Well, everything started to go downhill from there on out. After his surgery, he was having a hard time breathing on his own. They kept him inhibited, on the ventilator for a few days until they felt he was strong enough to breath on his own again. He was in ICU during that time. On Christmas night, he seemed off(that's what my mom and auntie Jeanette were saying.) He was having difficulty breathing and at this point was off the ventilator. Within an hour, he stopped breathing and coded. The staff at the hospital brought him back, but we were certain that he'd pass within a day or 2 at point because his body was starting to shut down in areas. While all the machines were doing the work for him, you could still tell he was fighting away. Needless to say because he's a stubborn, strong, Mexican, lion of a man, he came out of this and they even moved him from ICU to the acute floor. However, he didn't last long on that floor. Back to ICU he went. The reasons began to get more complex. Collapsed lungs, barely any lung capacity, and his GI tract wasn't healing the way the surgeons had hoped for. He started to become a very ill man. Within a week or so he coded again, was intubated again, and took a turn for the worst. At that point he had severe pneumonia in both lungs, there was no blood flow going through his GI tract, his kidney and liver were started to shut down, and to top it off, had Mersa flowing through his bloodstream. With all those things against him, we at that point knew what the outcome would be. Definitely not what we'd hoped for, or had even thought would happen initially. He was such a fighter, and fought his hardest until the very end. The doctors and staff gave him a nickname in the hospital, they kept calling him Rocky. The ongoing joke was that nobody would want to be in the boxing ring with him...because they'd lose!

My family had to make some very difficult decisions in the days to follow. My heart is aching for my mom. I truly don't think she will ever get over what she just experienced with her Dad. She kept saying she thought he'd get out of the hospital, sleep in his own bed, take his little walks to the mailbox, go to De Leon with her for lunch, & go to Safeway for his coffee and donuts during the week. I think we're all still shocked. I am grateful however, for the time I got to spend with my grandpa during his final days. I camped out at the hospital for the better half of 4 weeks to be with him, and my family. I was able to get some closure with him, and even got to speak with him before he passed. Something beautiful that I take away from this is that I learned more about my grandpa during that 4 weeks than I ever had before, and felt the closest to him as I ever have thus far. Leo had one of the biggest hearts, would truly give you the last dollar out of his pocket, and never judged people. He has the sweetest voice and always called us his "hija and/or hijo." Pronounced mija(mee hah) and mijo(mee hoh) which means my girl/boy. Rarely did he call me by name. I loved his accent! He will be missed immensely. Not since the birth of my children have I experienced such an intense, & emotional moment. I was telling Shane that watching my grandpa take his last breath was similar in the sense that you have a team, coaching you through bringing life in to this world, and my family and I were there doing everything we could to give my grandfather every ounce of comfort that we were capable of. It was so difficult to watch, but oddly, I'm grateful I was there with him. I(we)still can't believe he's gone. With sadened hearts we said goodbye. I do know that his is free as a bird now, happy, and living again. The Priest at his funeral said something like this "Leo is home now, with his porch light on, waiting for all of his loved one's to come home." I imagine he is, and know that one day I can see him again, and he'll say to me "hi hija" and maybe I'll even eat some of his green chilies and homemade refried beans. That may sound really weird, but it puts a smile on my face.

Mom, if you're reading this...I love you so much and words cannot express how sorry I am for your loss(for our loss.) I hope that you will find comfort in the memories you have of grandpa and that they will help you find peace in your heart.