Tragedy Struck Our Home.
The drug use progressed and continued in my home I got older and watched it progress and never said a word just kept quiet. Until one morning things took a turn for the worst and I got woke up by the words that no child nor adult wants to hear at 5:30 AM. It was still dark outside my twelve year old confused self was lying in bed all warm and my mom walks in the room with the most terrified look on her face and says Hayley, I'm gonna lay Brant my then four year old brother here I can't get your dad awake he had just started a new job and was going to be late. I panicked and was terrified more than terrified actually horrified. I immediately crawled to the bottom of the bed so I didn't have to climb over my sleeping peaceful brother, once I crawled out of bed and was W sitting in the floor on my knees I pulled the cover over my brother and left him sleeping. I crawled from my room to my parents room next to mine the light was on the radio was still playing and the tv was on from the night before. I saw my dad lying across the bed still warm but unresponsive he had his arm still formed in the shape of where he was holding my sleeping brother in his arms. My mom laying on top of him nudging him yelling Michael screaming and crying. and in that moment we both realized he was gone. I knew he was gone from the second I saw him. I was numb and in shock I couldn't scream or cry I just was numb it didn't feel real. I made I crawled to the steps and slid down them on my stomach I remember going outside no shoes just in my pajamas and socks and knocking on her door while my mother was still upstairs with my dad. She didn't hear me knock though I don't think. I crawled back into our apartment and yelled for my mother who was upstairs and I remember watching her walk outside over to our neighbors door and beat on it and yell for our neighbor who my parents had known since school days when the both came inside our next door neighbor asked where he was and my mom said "he's upstairs." I remember looking at my next door neighbor before they walked upstairs and saying "he's gone." my next door neighbor and my mom where coming down the steps in our apartment and our neighbor told my mom that he was still warm and that the paramedics could still be able to maybe save him and that she was going to go get the Cop who lived in the apartment across from ours. Our neighbor got the cop out of bed who knew my parents well came over he requested paramedics to come. After the paramedics came went upstairs and worked with my father for at least an hour they told my mother that there was nothing the could do to save him they done everything. I was told to go to my next door neighbors apartment where her kids were almost ready for school but they missed a day because so much was going on. My mother called my dads parents who were camping in their RV in Johnson County my papaw had just left for work but he turned around and came back and they got my dads brother and his wife to help pack things up and take it to their house and come be with us. In the meantime I was still at my neighbors apartment laying on her couch crying. I saw them pack my dad out of our apartment on a cot and in a white sheet they had already called the corner. My mother, my brother & I went to my dads parents house where family and friends that were neighbors of my grandmothers came over and brought food and expressed their condolences to our family. I cried all night that night and cried so hard I vomited I cried myself to sleep that night and had a dream and my fathers ghost was standing over top of me and he looked at me in my dream and said "sis don't cry I'm okay now, I love you." I immediately awoke and cried again and tossed and turned that whole night.
The day's I spent at the funeral home were the days it became more real that he was gone. People from school came sent tons of flowers. and friends and family too it was packed and it brought me a sense of peace knowing that even though my dad passed from accidental overdose from a mixture of Methadone and Xanax Medication that he had taken on his own touched so many people In so many ways. I remember two funny stories being told the night before the funeral by Shane Powers one was about my father losing a bet and had to wear a dress and work boots to work and one about them playing a prank on my father at work and holding him down and pouring grease down his pants. That brought tears and laughter at the same time. I didn't go to school for two weeks after the funeral and when I did kids were talking about it I'd cry and I wasn't interested in school work at all. It's been almost eight years since his passing and it still feels like it happened yesterday. I'm so thankful that my mother became sober five years ago. I'm thankful for her sobriety and that I get to spend more time with her. I finally have my old mom back.
I'm nineteen but I'm so thankful that I got to spend twelve years with such an amazing man who was only human and made mistakes.
Gerald Michael George 4/11/1973-09/08/08
"This is not goodbye it's I'll see you later"
"You'll forever remain in my heart old man see you soon I love you."
The day's I spent at the funeral home were the days it became more real that he was gone. People from school came sent tons of flowers. and friends and family too it was packed and it brought me a sense of peace knowing that even though my dad passed from accidental overdose from a mixture of Methadone and Xanax Medication that he had taken on his own touched so many people In so many ways. I remember two funny stories being told the night before the funeral by Shane Powers one was about my father losing a bet and had to wear a dress and work boots to work and one about them playing a prank on my father at work and holding him down and pouring grease down his pants. That brought tears and laughter at the same time. I didn't go to school for two weeks after the funeral and when I did kids were talking about it I'd cry and I wasn't interested in school work at all. It's been almost eight years since his passing and it still feels like it happened yesterday. I'm so thankful that my mother became sober five years ago. I'm thankful for her sobriety and that I get to spend more time with her. I finally have my old mom back.
I'm nineteen but I'm so thankful that I got to spend twelve years with such an amazing man who was only human and made mistakes.
Gerald Michael George 4/11/1973-09/08/08
"This is not goodbye it's I'll see you later"
"You'll forever remain in my heart old man see you soon I love you."