Song for My Father

Horace Silver

Receiving a call from anyone telling you that someone is not okay is hard. I’ve had that call about my father many times. The 18th of March 22’ was the hardest call.

“He’s not responding, I think he’s having a stroke.”

Within an hour, I was in the emergency room with my father after he had a brain seizure. They stopped the seizure, but when not attended by professionals, I noticed something odd about how he looked at me. It wasn’t him. I tried talking to him and it was as if he was looking past my words and eyes. He looked into something behind me and said Jesus in my native, and I knew I had to get someone.

Another brain seizure. It didn’t stop.

Hours in, the medical staff forced me to sit in a room and closed the door behind me. I asked the doctor if he would be okay, and they said, “I don’t know”.

They stabilised my father's condition but were unsure if the brain was seizing. I was told to go home.
The next day in ICU, my father was unresponsive and assisted by machines. The staff “believed” that the seizures had stopped but were unsure. The damage also not being clear.

Day after day of visiting, my father finally woke up.

He looked at me, called me sir, asked me to turn off the lights, and wanted to know where the cafe in his native hometown was.

He lost his memory and the ability to communicate effectively.
I can’t explain that feeling.

During this time, as a client, I hope you have felt nothing but support and dedication in the service the business and I provide.
If you’re a friend I have distanced from, please understand.

Things happen in our lives. Things we can’t control, understand or communicate.

Fast-tracking to fathers day, he’s back 100%.

If you see me as positive, strong and someone that makes you believe in your ability, you can thank my father for that.