I remember the day well. It was February 1st and they called to tell me that they were taking Jeremy to the hospital because he was having chest pain and having problems breathing. When they got him to the hospital they found out that he had a blockage in his intestines. They figured it had to do with scar tissue built up from a past surgery. They told me it was no big deal, that he would be there for three days maybe and then he would be back at the group home.

I talked to him twice that day. In the morning he was very miserable, and in the afternoon he was feeling better but was so tired. I told him to get a could night sleep and I would talk to him in the morning.

When I woke up the next morning I called the hospital and I couldn't understand what he was saying. The nurse took the phone and let me know that his blood pressure was dropping and that he was having a hard time breathing. She said it was no big deal, they were going to bring him to ICU just for observation and that she would call and tell me what room he was in. They called back ten minutes later and told me that they had been trying to revive him for the past ten minutes. He must have died right after I talked to him.

I had to tell them to stop trying. They had tried a tracheotomy even and there was nothing. I asked them what happened and they said they were going to do emergency surgery to remove a badly infected kidney but they never had a chance. They knew of it on Friday, why didn't they remove it then? That is the thing that bothers me the most.

I think I still hoped for a miracle, but then they called to ask if they could use parts of his body to help others in need. My first thought was "No way, that is my boy you're talking about." but then I thought of what he would have wanted. He would have wanted them to use all of him if it would have helped someone else. So I agreed.

More next time.