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| Gord Lowe 1944-2008 |
| A message from Karen to the group.
Hello everyone, We made it to Tobago. It is as beautiful as we all remembered it. It was liking coming home to the cottage. I am sorry to report some very sad news. Gord died on New Year's Day at 2:15 pm (Tobago time) from a pulmonary embolism. During the day on Old Year's Night, we spent the afternoon at a beautiful beach ... one we had not visited last year - Canoe Bay Beach. When we arrived there were hundreds of the most beautiful gold dragon flies. That afternoon, I decided that 2008 would be the Year of the Dragonfly. Around 11:30 pm, Gord rang his bell for help. The year of the vulture made its last visit. He was sweating profusely and was terribly uncomfortable. His blood sugar had dropped to 2.2. He felt he was having an angina episode and took a shot of nitro which eased that symptom. We got his blood sugar going in the right direction and before midnight he was comfortably sleeping again. At 5:40 am he woke me in terrible trouble. He couldn't breath. His oxygen saturation was at 60. No private hospitals were open. We went to the Fort Scarborough public hospital and he was immediately put on oxygen. They thought he had a heart attack and congestive heart failure. At 15 litres of oxygen per minute his oxygen saturation was ranging only between 60 and 79. They wanted to admit him and I refused as I had promised him no more extended hospital stays. They didn't believe he had a pulmonary embolism although we discussed that possibility. After an xray and ecg, they offered to give him a shot of lasix. His last wish of being able to breath was granted and his oxygen saturation went up to 90. We tried to organize oxygen to get him back to the villa so that he could die by the pool rather than at the hospital. The oxygen arrived too late. We were all with him to the end. He slipped into a coma. He fought to the bitter end. His heart restarted several times. We are thankful that he did not suffer long. The last hour was peaceful and he was not afraid. He has his independence back. I know that losing it over the past five months has been very difficult for him. This is the most surreal Hammerhead Vacation tour we've taken. The last 48 hours have been challenging. We hope that we will be successful in having him cremated in Trinidad on Saturday morning. Hopefully we can get past the current challenges. We are grateful that we are all together. The beauty around us is hard to miss and despite our feelings of loss and pain, there have been some wonderful moments whether it's been star gazing, bird watching, nature walks. The staff at the resort have been incredible. The wonderful adventures and times of the Bambino Family (as we came to call ourselves on our trip to Mexico) will continue even though we are 5 instead of 6 now. Our first priority on our return will be to break the news to his 86 year old mom who lives on her own. I will likely stay with her for a full week, unless she kicks me out sooner, as we don't want her grieving alone. To David Clubine, the kids want Gord's original plans for the Lotus Super 7 to continue. They have plans for it and that would not include selling it. The sale of the Formula Ford Reynard should also be put on hold at least for now. To Sue at Dogs in the Park, I will still pick up Marcellowe on Friday January 11th as previously discussed. If dog walk is on that day, I can meet you there if that is convenient. We will be organizing a memorial to celebrate Gord's life. Everyone's contributions will be welcome. So start writing up your favorite memories, gathering any special photos or videos you wish to share ... because we are going to have one "kick-ass" celebration. We have some wonderful photographs and video from this trip. It may take a while to organize everything because we want to do it up right. I know that Gord didn't want any of us to be sad. He felt he had a very good life. We will be looking for help and input. If you are feeling sad or want to do something to help, share one of your memories with us and/or another person who you know or have never met before and/or perform some random act of kindness to someone you know or a stranger. It's those unexpected random acts of kindness that make this world a better place. They could drown out the negativity that overwhelms us in the "News" media every day. Even if it means, stepping out of your comfort zone. Gord was a "relationship" guy, politically incorrect. He would talk to anyone and everyone. You either really liked him or really didn't (likely because he scared the crap out of you). Behind all that tough no nonsense exterior was an incredibly genuine, warm, caring, giving person. It lives on in each and every one of us who got to spend a slice of time with him. When I was asked what his religion was after his death, I was tempted to say Cars, Sports, Music, People, Nature, Art & History, but I knew they wouldn't understand so I said Anglican which it wasn't. To change an old phrase: Behind every successful woman is a really supportive guy. He contributed so much to who I am today and I will miss his influence. We've had some really tough times over the past seven years. They read a lot like a soap opera. He sometimes claimed he was the "guy who ruined my life". He definitely had that wrong. In the weeks leading up to this trip he often expressed a fear of "ruining the vacation for all of us". On New Year's Day when he said "I told you so", he got that wrong too. Despite his back pain, nausea, difficulty swallowing, etc. he smiled a lot. He played a Wii video game with the kids, actually enjoyed a roti lunch at Mount Irving Beach and some of the meals we made for him, engaged with the kids while they flew a kite, read a little, enjoyed Christmas cookies that Sara had baked for him, told jokes, laughed some. Despite my moments of doubt during the challenges of the last 48 hours, we do think it was way more enjoyable for him than the last 4 � months. Thank you to everyone for their support over these past months, especially the encouragement to continue the updates (despite them probably being more candid than anyone really wants to hear). It would have been easy to stop sending the updates but definitely helped me feel less isolated and overwhelmed. I am sorry to those of you who wanted to visit or connect with Gord who did not. If you feel I have missed sending this to someone, feel free to forward this update on. Karen |
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| OFFC Class "B" (cars 84 and older) Champion in 2001- 2004 - 2006 |
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