Antonio Gozum's funeral, transport to Philippines

On Saturday, September 24th, my Dad arrived in NY from his long-awaited trip to the Philippines at 11:40 am. Returning to the Philippines had always been his wish as soon as he recovered from his illness. As most of you know, my dad had a congestive heart failure condition which was treated in 2019, and then shortly after, he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in January 2020 (When it rains, it pours). We tackled his illness side by side as a team. He fought hard to stay alive and gained strength when he found out he was getting promoted to a Grandpa. Giving up was not in his vocabulary. After going through almost two years of chemotherapy/immunotherapy, he was beating cancer. Once he felt strong enough to go back home and fix my mom’s tombstone, I agreed with him to take him to every doctor he had and get clearance from them first. Three months soon turned into five months; time flies when your having fun, as they say. My dad was thrilled to be in his motherland, his native country, the Philippines. He was with his beloved brothers, sisters, and childhood friends.

Two days later, on Monday, September 26th, he called me that afternoon complaining about severe Stomach pain radiating to his chest and because of this, he was having trouble breathing. I was terrified and immediately called 911 from Florida (my new home). He was transported to LIJ Valley Stream via ambulance. As per the attending Dr., My Dad was experiencing an a-fib. I then made sure to mention he was a heart failure patient, had eight stents in his heart, and was in remission from stage 4 lung cancer. The Doctor had medicated my dad to give him comfort. The next day, Tuesday the 27th, the Dr. told me that my dad’s labs were through the roof. She had asked me how I wanted to go about the care plan for him, suggesting either Palliative Care or Intubating. They said my dad was going through “multiple organ failure”… everything after that was a blur for me. My mind went into immediate shock.

I could not think all of a sudden. I asked my Father what he wanted to do, and he was against the intubation process. A kidney specialist suddenly came in and suggested doing “dialysis” to help him. I did not have a chance to think as I would’ve wanted to solely because the doctors told me not to take this news lightly and make a decision ASAP, as this was a time-sensitive condition. Of course, I wanted to stay positive and get him treated so he could stay with us as long as possible; at least, that’s what I thought. So I told them, “Yes, let’s proceed with dialysis.” I told my dad that everything would be okay, “they are going to take good care of you and treat you so you can feel better” I Told him I loved him and I’ll talk to him as soon as they extubated. The dialysis took 4 hours and 50 minutes total. At first, everything seemed to be going in the right direction until the redrawing of blood results came back not looking promising. He was declared acidotic, meaning his blood was so toxic it was causing astronomical damage inside his body in such a short period. On Wednesday, September 28th, I spoke with his morning nurse, as the night nurse (the one I said with at 1 am) left at 7 am. He told me the labs for the day had not been drawn yet; however, it is not looking good for my Dad. Later that afternoon, I asked the nurse for another update, and he went to check for any gag reflex and pupil activity since they had taken off sedation medications at this point. Sad to say, there was none. The way my father looked at this time, I knew I would need a miracle in my heart. That miracle was never granted. God had called upon his servant and taken him away from his sufferings. My wonderful Papa was nothing but a fighter, and he did everything possible to make it to his Doctors appointments so that he could be here for his kids. Unfortunately, he lost a battle this time around. On Wednesday, September 28th, my Father passed away at 9:30 pm.

Never did the idea of him passing away even cross our minds. My Dad had not even gotten the chance to unpack his belongings. When my sister opened up my Father’s luggage, it was packed with nothing but toys and learning activities for Julius (his grandson). He was a loving father and a hard-working husband, and he was a phenomenal grandpa. He will be greatly missed by all of us and the countless people he met throughout his life here on earth.

This is a very unexpected, tragic and heartbreaking event; any donated amount will be greatly appreciated. We will fulfill his last wish, to be buried as a whole next to his beloved deceased wife in the Philippines, who passed away three years ago. Any amount would be a huge help and greatly appreciated, but if you cannot donate, we ask that you please keep my Father in your prayers.

Thank you so much for your help during this difficult time. May God bless you all, and may he return your kind generosity.