Rodney Joseph Smith ~ Joe as he was mostly known was a Husband, a Father, a Poppy, a Great Grand Poppy, a Brother, a Uncle, and a Great mate to many. He was always there to lend a hand, Joe had a big heart and even became Pop to many of the neighbourhood kids who needed their punctures fixed or their brakes fixed and he even made up bikes from secondhand parts for the kids who didnt have bikes of their own. He was a Loving poppy to his 2 grandaughters Carly and Teagan. Every school holidays he would pack up his caravan and with his 2 best camping buddies they would head up the river fishing and just having fun. Even weekends he would ring them up and say lets go to the beach or the pools or even crabbing and nine times out of ten the girls friends came along too - "The more the merrier" he would say! He taught the girls many things but the most important thing he taught them was To believe in themselves and the last thing he would always say to them on leaving was "Poppy Loves You" And that he did!.... He had so much love and time for us all- always giving.
In the last 12 months of his life, Dad was diagnosed with cancer in the lung and underwent chemo. Unfortunately after the first round of chemo the news wasnt very good. Dad had developed a tumour in the brain and although it was small it was a real worry to him. Dad started a second round of chemo but tried to stay positive and kept doing all the things he loved doing. He never complained and although there were many times he didnt feel well, he kept on going, just as he had always done. On the Saturday before he died he was a little bit under the weather but Sunday morning he woke up and was finding it hard to catch his breathe and started becoming disorientated. My Mum sent for a doctor who immediately rushed him to hospital. I arrived at the hospital Sunday lunch time to find him sitting up in bed with an oxygen mask on, talking about politics of all things!. (He was a staunch labour Man) Over the next couple of days his health was up and down. He found it hard to breathe even with the highest dose of oxygen available. My Mum and I and my girls stayed by his side and his spirits were up, even though he was really worn out. His main wish was to go home but due to the level of oxygen he needed that was not possible. The doctors told him and us, that they were hoping the drugs he was being given would fight the infection in his lungs and he would slowly be able to breathe unaided and then he would be able to go home. Mum and I stayed with him but it was hard to see him struggle for breathe but he kept going and didnt complain. Wednesday night My girls and I were there with him when he told me he was a bit tired. So I tucked him in and told him my mum and my sister would be visiting him first thing in the morning. ( my sister was arriving from melborne the following morning) I told him I loved him, the girls kissed their Poppy and blew him a kiss; and we walked out the door.
That night my darling Father passed away in his sleep at approx 5am. My sister arrived at 7.20am two or so hours too late, she got off the plane at the airport, expecting to go to the hospital to see her Dad and instead I had to tell her in the middle of the airport that our darling Dad had just passed away. That was the worst thing I have ever had to do in all my life.. The look of total despair and desperation was something I will never forget. My sister collasped in mine and my Mothers arms sobbing hysterically. My heart broke all over again. She never got the chance to say Goodbye or a last "I love You Dad" and as it had been over a month since she had seen him she was just devasted. My dear Mother although a strong woman, is broken. She has lost her Husband and her Mother in a short period of 5 months and will never get over the heartache. Mum cared for her mother solely for approx 3 years before her pasing and then Dad was diagnosed with Cancer and then he passed away so suddenly. How much pain can one person be expected to bear. Mum and Dad had been together for 47 years and although neither was very vocale about their love it showed in everything they did. My Mum is trying to get through one day at a time and although we are close and see each other every seond day and talk on the phone daily, her heart is broken and it will never be mended. Her one and only love is gone and the empty right hand side of the bed and the single tooth brush in the bathroom are things she will never get used to. I cry for her sometimes because I know how bad my heart breaks day after day without my Dad, so I can only imagine how shattered her heart must be at the inconsolable loss of her one and only love. 47 years giving to one person everything that you are and then losing them, well its something that no person should have to deal with. But as my Dad would say ...."Thats life and you just have to get on with it. Be there for one another and make the most of every day" .....I try to remember the things he told me and I keep the precious memories close and I cry, for I know what I had and what I have lost and that is "The Love Of A good Father"!
