Tim Boyd was born on September 22nd, 1948 and before the age of 23 he married my mom, Beth. 5 years later, I was born and my brother Brad followed 5 1/2 years after that.
With just a high school education and a year in a local vocational college, Dad only had 2 jobs after the age of 18. He spent 18 years working for the City of Opelousas Power Plant followed by 22 years as proprietor of B&T Kwik Shop in Nuba, LA.
In July of this year, mom and dad came to visit me in Austin. I was planning on putting my house on the market and they were gonna help me clean it up some. Dad spent 2 days with a pressure washer and a blower cleaning the entire outside of my house and clearing out my gutters. When he started a job he finished it and when he was done all he wanted was some cold beer and good dinner. I took them to a Brazilian steak house and they both enjoyed it.
Dad came to Austin about once a year for the nearly 10 years that I’ve lived there. Mom and dad even made a surprise visit for my 32nd birthday party and when I walked into the waiting area at Chuy’s they were both already there.
I wasn’t really aware of how bad my dad’s health was declining. Mom told me that his back was hurting him and he had lost some weight. My uncle Willy called me on Tuesday the 13th to tell me that I really should come home to see dad. I drove home on Thursday and I think the following image of my dad will be the one I remember forever. Dad was lying in his bed on his back. As I walked into the room he lifted his right forearm while keeping his elbow on the bed and pumped his fist in a motion similar to arm wrestling. His arms and legs were very skinny and the 30 lbs of weight that he had shed during the previous 2 months left him looking very aged.
On Friday morning, we got up and took dad to the hospital for some blood work and to do a bronchoscopy. Having to roll your 61 year old father in a wheelchair because he’s too weak to walk just 10 weeks after he seemed so strong and healthy was a heart breaking task. I’ve never liked hospitals and as positive and hopeful as I wanted to be, I knew there was a chance that he wouldn’t be coming back out of those doors alive.
There was one problem after another, either his platelets were too low or his heart rate was too high, so it would be 4 more days before they would even be able to do the bronchoscopy. On Saturday, dad was still very alert and they had started an IV to give him some fluids and nutrition. At times he would say a few loony things but he was on several heavy pain meds. I talked to him and tried to make him comfortable. He was worried about his store and kept asking questions about invoices and deposits. I told him that mom and Uncle Mike had it all taken care of and that he should rest. I held his hand and rubbed his head and tried to be strong.
I went back to Austin on Sunday with plans to return later in the week. When I got back on Friday morning, I spent a lot of time with dad at the hospital. His condition had worsened and he was almost too weak to make any sounds. I could understand some words but mostly I tried to do the talking. Dad was having trouble breathing and had been in and out of the ICU. On Saturday, they had to put a mask on his face to help his oxygen levels and he kept trying to take it off. A few hours later, they changed out oxygen masks and dad was still having trouble breathing. He didn’t want the mask on his face and I held his hand so he wouldn’t take the mask off and I told him that he had to have it on because it was helping him.
They again changed masks and this time to one that sealed around the edge of his face and really was pushing a lot of oxygen into his lungs. They took him back into ICU and were trying to get him to a point where they could begin the chemotherapy. Because of the limited visiting hours in ICU it wasn’t until 10am on Sunday that I got to see him again. I stayed with him until 1pm when they began the chemotherapy. They let my mom sit with him in the ICU. I had lunch with my uncles, aunts and cousins and then packed my car and headed back to Austin.
I got home at 10pm on Sunday night and was hoping to hear good news in the morning that the treatment had helped and that dad was showing some signs of improvement. Instead, the news was bad and I quickly packed my car with new clothes and headed back to Opelousas. I arrived just after 4pm at Opelousas General Hospital and with my mother standing between my brother and myself at his bedside we watched him die. The ventilator continued to fill his lungs with air and you could see his chest rise and fall but he was dead. The man that loved my mother, who taught me how to throw a baseball and taught me how to safely handle a firearm was gone.
These last 2 weeks have gone by so quickly and have left me with a heavy heart and watery eyes. I hated to see my dad in such a terrible state of health. He was a good man to so many people and he lived a happy and simple life. He loved me and my brother and I loved him for exactly the person he was, an honest, hard working, unselfish father.
I hope my mother finds peace in the absence of her husband. They shared over 38 years of marriage and have always provided for me and my brother with everything they had.
Dad, I love you and I’m forever grateful for everything you did for me. Rest in peace.
