My Uncle Eric died suddenly on Friday night. Otherwise healthy, he was in hospital for a pretty routine knee replacement. He had the operation on Friday afternoon and at 6.30PM he was very well and laughing with the nurses. He was hungry and asked for soup. As he was eating he simply died. The hospital staff called my Aunt and tried for 40 minutes to resuscitate him, but he was gone.
My Uncle is the husband of my Mum’s sister, Judy. My Mum got a call from Judy saying that Eric had taken a turn. By the time she arrived at hospital he was pronounced dead. My Aunt’s children were away, one in a theatre in London and uncontactable and one in the US on holiday.
Uncle Eric was a warm, funny man with a nack for practical jokes and a very dry sense of humour. I have many fond memories of him. His life was punctuated by the tragedy of losing a son, my cousin Paul, aged 21. For my Aunt this was almost too much to bear. Losing Eric is… well…
We can’t believe he is suddenly gone.
He left the hedge trimmer out so he could tidy the garden.
