I’ve never really known what it feels like to have someone dear to me pass away until today. It’s a very numbing, debilitating feeling, that really doesn’t quite sink in even when it happens right in front of you.

My grandfather passed away today at 1:47PM at the age of 99, peacefully, with a heart as strong as anyone out there regardless of age. He joined the Creator 4 days after my grandmother died 27 years ago.

He was critical since the past week began and lost the ability to speak early as they had to do a trach to help him breathe. All week, they put a bunch of tubes in to help pump medicine into his system to fight off his pneumonia, as well as feed him. For the past 10 days he had been bombarded with a variety of drugs and he had a blood tranfusion on both his arms, but his heart was still pumping so hard. I had asked him early this week if he wanted to let go and leave us, and he would vehemently shake his head even though he couldn’t speak and open his eyes anymore.

I stood there watching the machine that told us all what his blood pressure was and what rate his heart was beating at. The doctors said it should only be a matter of time as his kidney had failed because of all the meds pumped into his system and his pneumonia came back. But everytime one of us would go speak into his ear and try to wake him, all his vitals would shoot up and his heart would keep beating and beating. The elders decided to whisper to him that it’s time to let go and that we would all be okay. One by one they did it, and that was the only time his vitals slowly dropped, until he passed away peacefully this afternoon.

Angkong is going to be so missed by our entire clan as he was the reason we would all get together on Sundays and on festive occasions. Without him, we all probably wouldn’t be as close as we all are right now. We are very thankful that he was able to have lived such a fruitful and happy 99 years here with us.