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order to make some tea. He was wearing pajamas, which caught on fire. My mother had attempted to put out the flames with her hands, some- how managed to do so, and then called 911. Emergency personnel arrived, and Dad was, as I said, helicoptered to Westchester Medical Center while my mother was driven north for first-aid treatment. I believe that I spent the day at the burn center, where I saw my father, who was in a coma, one that I assume was medically induced. I con- ferred with the doctors, but I could not tell you what they said, other than to say that the situation was not good. It’s now mostly a fog. Kathy tells me that my mother was released that day. Kathy then brought her to me at Westchester Medical Center, where I tried to explain the situ- ation to her. At some point, we concluded that there was nothing that we could do at the hospital and that the best course of action was to take my mom to Scarsdale, which we did.
Dad remained in a coma for more than two weeks. Finally, on Feb- ruary 13, Kathy and I had a lengthy talk with the chief physician in his office. In what was a very difficult conversation, we were told that the situation was essentially hopeless but were assured that Dad was not in pain. I possessed the healthcare proxy that we had had both of my par- ents execute, probably years before, and it was for me to authorize the termination of treatment. I again visited my father’s bedside to say goodbye. Of course, any communication was only one-way; he was not conscious. I remember that after I saw him for what I knew was the last time, I turned to one of the staff with whom I had formed some sort of relationship. I recall thanking him for all of his efforts and saying to him, “You’ll be the angel.” I was called the next morning, Valentine’s Day, and I was told that my dad had just passed away.
I don’t remember whether I had asked my mother’s permission to let him go. I do remember that when I explained the situation, she nodded her head but did not, and probably could not, really react. She had been in what we assumed was a state of shock since the morning of the fire. After my father passed away, Mom stayed with us for a few weeks. Dur- ing that time, we observed disturbing, meaningless, repetitive conduct that we at first attributed to her shock. We later realized that, in the year
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