"My dad died with dignity"

In September 2008 my dad, totally out of the blue, had a massive heart attack. He was rushed into Hull Royal Infirmary, and treated in Resus. Myself and step family were told that unfortunately there was nothing they could do to save dad, and although he began breathing for himself again, he was severely brain damaged due to the lack of oxygen to his brain, and it was just a matter of time. Sadly just 27 hours later my dad passed away, eight days before his 74th birthday.

During that time the staff on the ward (10, I think) were wonderful. They gave us a leaflet explaining what the last hours would be like for dad, and what we would expect to see/experience. They cleaned and shaved him, made him comfortable, made sure we knew exactly what we were allowed/was ok to do. The slightest concern we had for dad, they would come in to his side room and check on him/us. Even though they were obviously short staffed, they made sure they were there for us and when the time came they told us there wasn't long left and to get those of us necessary around him. He never regained consciousness after the heart attack and just appeared to be asleep, snoring as usual, until he peacefully passed away with us all there holding him.

The staff at the time stayed well past their shift time and for that we were so grateful. So a thank you to the staff there at the time, you helped me personally at a very difficult time (especially as my mum had died 11 weeks previously under very different circumstances). Still a massive shock, but knowing what was going to happen, and being there supported, helped so much.