As I wheeled around the corner of the hill on South Avenue this morning, the brick facade of Highland Hospital loomed into view. This is a sight I have become all too familiar with during countless visits over the forty days and forty nights of my father’s stay in the ICU, and a grim reminder of what happened here last Thursday. It’s also a sight that my sister Johanna sees daily, as she makes her way to work as a registered nurse in Highland’s West 7 unit. The purpose of my visit was to once again accompany my mother to the ICU, but this time not for a visit to see our Pop, but rather to complete consent paperwork for his autopsy.

The hospital called my mother this morning and told her that the autopsy, which was originally supposed to be performed last Friday, had been delayed due to paperwork technicalities. My sister’s cell phone had rung as my mother and sister were hastily fleeing the hospital immediately after Pop’s passing, and Johanna rushed back in to sign the consent form for the autopsy. Unfortunately, my mother was his primary health care proxy and Johanna was authorized as a substitute only if Mom was unable to consent herself. The ICU staff told her this morning that she needed to be there to sign in person and have the signature witnessed. I had known Friday that this was a possible issue when I spoke with the Director of the Morgue on the phone from our cottage, but repeated calls to the morgue at Highland on Saturday and Sunday went unanswered. I guess it’s dead there on the weekends.

Mom and I went to the ICU desk and spoke with Dr. Perillo, the head doctor in charge and the Director of the ICU unit at Highland Hospital. ICU Room 10 was just a few feet immediately to our left, and a new customer was occupying the bed where my father had spent his final minutes. I couldn’t help thinking that I hoped their outcome is more positive than that for our family. Mom signed the consent forms as Dr. Perillo and I discussed the details of the autopsy procedure; including the specifics of the diagnostic tests involved and an expected timeframe for a preliminary diagnosis. We hope to know more information in the next few days as to what was responsible for Pop’s illness, and ultimately the cause of his death.