Even in My Dad’s Final Weeks, I Was Still in Denial
A cartoonist depicts a difficult time with honesty and emotion
Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment of cartoonist Jack Ohman’s series “The Care Package,” for PBS NewsHour. It originally appeared on PBSNewsHour.org.
When editorial cartoonist Jack Ohman’s father only had days left to live, he still wrote checks to pay his bills and recorded his blood pressure readings.
Meanwhile, everything with his dad’s health seemed to suddenly go wrong at once, he said.
He was completely coherent and optimistic, but his body was “weak and worn out,” Ohman said.
“That made it almost harder because I had to discuss it with him, like ‘What are we going to try next?’” Ohman said.
“By that point, it didn’t matter. I knew it didn’t matter.”
Reporting by Laura Santhanam.