Poppy Hammel

During our visit to NY, we watch Poppy Hammel getting weaker and weaker. We were very fortunate to get some time with him while he was able to talk and enjoy the company. Makaela was definitely entertaining and lightened the atmosphere a bit, but by the end of the week even Makaela was noticing that Poppy needed more naps and that we shouldn't wake him. Poppy passed away the morning of Sunday August 14th. My dad called to tell me that Pops waited until Mike got home from work and then, as if he were just going to sleep, passed away. It is so great that he was surrounded by family members who loved him, but at the same time I feel like that was probably one of the hardest things for my family members to witness (although watching him go through the pain of cancer might have been almost as bad). My brother's firehouse was called and when Pop was carried out of the house, the firemen stood at attention and saluted him- Pop was a former FDNY as well. It is really painful for me to be apart from my family right now, missing the wake and the funeral, but again, I just feel blessed that Makaela and I got to see him. Here are some pictures of our last day with Pop when he was spoiling Makaela with cookies. Makaela was very comforting when I got the phone call too. When I started crying, she got very concerned and asked me what was wrong. When I told her I was crying over Poppy she asked, "Did he hurt you?" I told her that he didn't, but that I was sad, so she ran to get me a tissue and wiped my eyes for me. Later, when I had another bout of crying, she got me another tissue and said, "Ma, I already cleaned your eyes".