Don't know how many people will read this, but I want to express my heartfelt thanks to every blog comment, email, card, flowers and other support that my family received.
If you've been through this type of experience, you know that each little touch helps you rebuild the connections to the world that you've lost as part of your grief.
I can't tell you how much everyone's little touches made a difference and provided me and my family with comfort.
A big thank you!!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
My remarks at David's funeral and memorial service
God's greatest gift to me was a baby brother and now he is gone.
Every extra day from David's 1st liver transplant in September 1981 until this Sunday was also God's gift.
In the end, it was David's time. He had weathered so much and so many challenges, but the toll on his body was too much for him to continue.
David represented all that was good within us – creativity, energy, enthusiasm, positive attitude, love for life, love for others…
As a toddler and young boy, David was a bundle of energy. I will never forget the excitement of those early years when I stopped being an only child after four and a half years, and finally had a brother!
None of us knew what to expect after David’s 1st transplant – it was uncharted territory. We did know it was experimental, we knew lots of other children and adults didn’t survive very long. We knew a few people had survived over 10 years…
I suppose as a young man, my assumption was that David would go back to being the little brother he was before he got sick. Someone who I played ping pong against, but usually lost. Someone who I thought how to play softball and baseball, only to see him become much better at those sports than I was.
Well – actually the idea was to help him become better at those sports than I was – I couldn’t stand to see anyone go through the frustrations that I did, trying to play.
When we were growing up, David filled an important role in our family that I could never bring myself to fill. When my mother was upset and crying, he was always the one who could console her, while I felt paralyzed. This was a huge relief to me that he stepped in to deal with these situations.
Having come so close to death, people were amazed at what David went on to achieve after his transplant. Class salutatorian in high school, a private pilot’s license, graduation from
David did something at his wedding, that I’ve never seen anyone else do – before or since. He sang a love song to Sara – not only did he do that, he went and recorded it in advance and had it played at the reception. Yes, David was a better athlete than I was -- but he definitely wasn’t a better singer – if you know what I mean.
David went through a 2nd and 3rd transplant 7 years ago – once again he amazed us by cheating death and returning back home to a productive life with his family.
Staying positive, staying enthusiastic, never wanting to take “no” as an answer. And while his stubbornness sometimes frustrated me, I would take more of it in a heartbeat for just a bit more time with him.
When we learned at the beginning of November that he was sick again – we had no reason to think that things would turn out any differently than they did the 1st two times he was sick.
David would get a liver transplant, cheat death, and come back to
We’ve since learned that God had other plans for him. And we know that wherever he is, David is looking down on all of us, with his ever pleasant smile.
As I mentioned before, David was a pilot. So it was very appropriate that I happened to be watching the movie “The Right Stuff” last weekend, which is about the pilots that became the first astronauts. There’s a line at the end of movie that I’ve adapted which I believe describes David’s last moments – “Last Sunday, David flew farther, faster, and higher than any other pilot – and at that moment, David was the best pilot you ever saw”.
David had a great sense of humor and was always telling jokes. I think he would like this one to end my remarks.
On the day that David died, Heaven wasn’t very busy, so God said that he would give David a tour. God took David to see the golf course where he could play golf whenever he wanted. He saw the game center where David could participate in Hero Clix tournaments when he felt like it. He showed David the Heaven airfield where there were rows of planes available to be take up.
Lastly they visited a room that was filled with clocks. David asked what the clocks were for. God told him that the clocks were for each person on earth and measured the time that they had left. David noticed that some clocks were moving more quickly than others and asked God why that was the case.
God told him the clocks speed up everytime the person tells a lie. David noticed a clock in the middle of the room that was spinning wildly.
Who’s clock is that asked David? That’s OJ’s clock – we use it as a fan.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Chicago area Memorial Service
There will be a memorial service for David in Chicago, at North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe.
The service will take place on Sunday, December 17th at 3PM.
The service will take place on Sunday, December 17th at 3PM.
Funeral Arrangements
We will be celebrating David's life with a service on Wednesday, December 13th at 11AM ET.
The service will take place at Metcalf & Johnkoff in Grand Rapids. The address is 4291 Cascade Road Southeast. The phone number is 616-940-7333.
Burial and a reception will follow.
The service will take place at Metcalf & Johnkoff in Grand Rapids. The address is 4291 Cascade Road Southeast. The phone number is 616-940-7333.
Burial and a reception will follow.
David Yomtoob, October 18, 1968 - December 10, 2006
God's greatest gift to me was a baby brother and now he is gone.
Every extra day from David's 1st liver transplant in September 1981 until yesterday was also God's gift.
In the end, it was David's time. He had weathered so much and so many challenges, but the toll on his body was too much for him to complete the surgery.
He died on the table, of heart failure. His doctors had succesfully removed his old liver and put the new one in, but weren't able to get things going. There were problems with his portal vein, and with his pancreas. They did everything they could to get his organs working together, but in the end his heart just gave out.
The members of David's transplant team are still our heroes.
The funeral and burial will be in Grand Rapids this week. I will provide more details as I have them.
Please pray for David's family, especially his wife Sara, daugther Rachael, and his sons Nathan and Caleb. They will need all of God's strength in the coming days.
Until there's somewhere else to do it, please use this blog as an online condolence book.
Thank you so much for your love and support.
Every extra day from David's 1st liver transplant in September 1981 until yesterday was also God's gift.
In the end, it was David's time. He had weathered so much and so many challenges, but the toll on his body was too much for him to complete the surgery.
He died on the table, of heart failure. His doctors had succesfully removed his old liver and put the new one in, but weren't able to get things going. There were problems with his portal vein, and with his pancreas. They did everything they could to get his organs working together, but in the end his heart just gave out.
The members of David's transplant team are still our heroes.
The funeral and burial will be in Grand Rapids this week. I will provide more details as I have them.
Please pray for David's family, especially his wife Sara, daugther Rachael, and his sons Nathan and Caleb. They will need all of God's strength in the coming days.
Until there's somewhere else to do it, please use this blog as an online condolence book.
Thank you so much for your love and support.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
"They found a liver!"
Extremely good news! At 9:30 ET this morning, David called to tell me that that they may have a liver for him and he would know more by 1:00. At 12:00, I called Dad and found out that David was in surgery.
All of this reminded me of one of my most vivid memories from David's 1st experience with a transplant, back in September 1981. At that time, the entire process was so new and experimental. There was no organ procurement network (like UNOS), so any hospital that did transplants had to have its own procurement process in place.
By the end of September, David's condition was extremely grave, so Dad was in Pittsburgh full time with my mom. Family friends drove Rebecca and I to Pittsburgh, and there was really a sense that we were going in to pay our final respects. David had been in a coma for 3 weeks and his kidneys had failed. Given this was the pre-cell phone era, there was no way to get in touch with us during the trip with an update. So all of us were pleasantly shocked and surprised to walk on the hallway where David's room was only to see Dad waiting for us in front of David's room. As soon as we were in his line of sight, Dad shouted: "they found a liver!".
As of 5:00PM ET today, David is still in surgery. Owing to the fact that this isn't his first transplant, lots of scar tissue has built up and they are still working on removing his current liver. The total process could take 12 hours or longer.
David is extremely fortunate that Dr. Andreas Tzakis is performing this transplant, as he did the last two in 1999. The family is very grateful for all of Dr. Tzakis's efforts supporting David over the years. He's truly our hero.
Dr. Tzakis is supported by an incredible team of doctors, nurses and other health professionals in Ft. Lauderdale (where David started this most recent expedition) and Miami who have given us complete confidence in their ability to care for David, treat him, and bring him back to health. We are thankful to them.
The outpouring of support from friends, colleagues and others has been incredible. Since he's unable to connect with everyone in person, Dad asked me to the Hawthorn School District 73 family for all of their cards, letters, and prayers.
Also, a big thank you from our family to David's entire extended family as well as all the friends, colleagues, and others who have lent their support.
David still has many hurdles to get through on his way to recovery. The transplant is just the beginning of the recovery process. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers, and please add comments to the blog as well.
All of this reminded me of one of my most vivid memories from David's 1st experience with a transplant, back in September 1981. At that time, the entire process was so new and experimental. There was no organ procurement network (like UNOS), so any hospital that did transplants had to have its own procurement process in place.
By the end of September, David's condition was extremely grave, so Dad was in Pittsburgh full time with my mom. Family friends drove Rebecca and I to Pittsburgh, and there was really a sense that we were going in to pay our final respects. David had been in a coma for 3 weeks and his kidneys had failed. Given this was the pre-cell phone era, there was no way to get in touch with us during the trip with an update. So all of us were pleasantly shocked and surprised to walk on the hallway where David's room was only to see Dad waiting for us in front of David's room. As soon as we were in his line of sight, Dad shouted: "they found a liver!".
As of 5:00PM ET today, David is still in surgery. Owing to the fact that this isn't his first transplant, lots of scar tissue has built up and they are still working on removing his current liver. The total process could take 12 hours or longer.
David is extremely fortunate that Dr. Andreas Tzakis is performing this transplant, as he did the last two in 1999. The family is very grateful for all of Dr. Tzakis's efforts supporting David over the years. He's truly our hero.
Dr. Tzakis is supported by an incredible team of doctors, nurses and other health professionals in Ft. Lauderdale (where David started this most recent expedition) and Miami who have given us complete confidence in their ability to care for David, treat him, and bring him back to health. We are thankful to them.
The outpouring of support from friends, colleagues and others has been incredible. Since he's unable to connect with everyone in person, Dad asked me to the Hawthorn School District 73 family for all of their cards, letters, and prayers.
Also, a big thank you from our family to David's entire extended family as well as all the friends, colleagues, and others who have lent their support.
David still has many hurdles to get through on his way to recovery. The transplant is just the beginning of the recovery process. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers, and please add comments to the blog as well.
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Update
David's condition continues to be stable. His bilirubin has gone up a bit as well as his ammonia levels. The ammonia levels have gone up because the medication he's been taking to lower the levels was reduced. The doctors have decided to raise the level of the medication back up since the lower level of medication isn't adequately controlling his ammonia levels. The big side effect of the ammonia medication is frequent trips the the bathroom, even at night, so the doctors don't want him to take any higher dosage than he needs to.
Folks have asked if its okay to use the comments section to leave David well-wishes. It certainly is and we encourage you to do that.
At the hospital, the cafeteria is the only place with wi-fi access, so David has had chances to see the blog, albeit infrequently.
David's dad, Joe, had returned home earlier in the week and is now driving down to Miami so that the family will have a car down there. So right now, David and Parichehr are in Miami together.
Please keep David in your prayers.
Folks have asked if its okay to use the comments section to leave David well-wishes. It certainly is and we encourage you to do that.
At the hospital, the cafeteria is the only place with wi-fi access, so David has had chances to see the blog, albeit infrequently.
David's dad, Joe, had returned home earlier in the week and is now driving down to Miami so that the family will have a car down there. So right now, David and Parichehr are in Miami together.
Please keep David in your prayers.
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