Bennett Allen Swenning

My dad had been having major back pain because of his sciatic nerve. He has always had back pain because he fell down a missile silo when he was in the military, but the pain became even more unbearable. When going to doctor appts one lead to another and on Friday the 22nd of Sept he was diagnosed with cancer. Then Tuesday morning, 26th of Sept, he woke up and had slurred speech and then wasn’t able to say anything he wanted to. My mom immediately loaded him up and took him to the ER. It was confirmed that he suffered from a frontal lobe stroke. He went from not being able to swallow and having a tube to being able to be on a soft food diet. He went from not being able to talk to getting better at his speech each day. On Friday the 29th he was discharged and we took him to the rehabilitation hospital for him to continue speech and physical therapy. On Oct 9th he was released from encompass therapy and welcomed home by our family!! We were so thrilled to have him and and on the right track to help him heal. During rehab we noticed that his strength had regressed, but we believed it was from all of his therapies wearing him out and lack of good quality sleep. When he got home we noticed his strength weaken to the point of not being able to hold onto anything. On Wednesday the 11th he was so lethargic that we rushed him to the ER. When in the ER he was put onto the cpap and became more coherent and continued to open his eyes and look at my mom, Ashley, and I. He constantly voiced to us how much he loved us, saying “I love you!” while looking us in the eyes. That evening he was then transferred to the ICU where he was still in so much pain. We saw doctor after doctor for updates on each organ of his body on the morning of the 12th. With the questions we asked the doctors, it began to confirm our worst fear, because we selfishly wanted him to stay on earth with us. We had to make the hardest decision to let his earthly body go if he was truly ready. He was then transferred into inpatient hospice where they did round the clock vitals to ensure they could ease all of his pain and be comfortable when he was ready to enter the gates of Heaven. We continued to hold him, love on him, and tell him how much we loved him. We played recordings of him that his grandchildren sent so he could hear their voices again. Then I read a message aloud to him from his sister. Within minutes his breathing began to slow and at 5:25am he took his last breaths and God welcomed him with arms wide open.

If you know my parents they are inseparable and this has been very hard on them both. They have been married for 50 years! This will be an extremely hard new chapter for her and we want to ease her stress and pain by allowing others to show their love by helping ensure his funeral wishes are met.

It may not be an easy journey, but we are seeking the Lord’s strength during this time.

We are so thankful for the doctors, nurses, and medical staff who worked tirelessly to ensure his comfort while his earth body passed.

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held in honor of Bennett Swenning on October 15th at 2pm at Pursuit Church in Prattville.