I wanted to send a quick congratulations to John Eagan and Andrea Blackburn on their recent marriage on July 5th in beautiful Newport, RI. I got back from their wedding on Monday night and I must say….what a great wedding it was! From playing golf at the Newport National Golf Club to dancing the night away at the reception held at the Rosecliff Mansion, everyone had a wonderful time. Thank you!

In the links on the right, I added a link to the video slideshow that was shown at the reception dinner. Check it out…

On Monday, September 17, 2007 my father David Hackett was laid to rest after losing his battle with cancer. He was buried in Saint Patrick’s Cemetery in Fall River, MA on what turned out to be a beautiful summer day. On a morning filled with such darkness and grief, the sun was shining down as his coffin lay before us draped with an American flag and two United States Air Force officers standing at attention by his side. My father served in Vietnam as a military policeman during the war and I know he would have been proud and honored by the military funeral that was given in his honor.

These final moments I had with my dad were a culmination of a very difficult week. On Sunday night, we saw a constant stream of people who came to pay their respects to their friend, their coworker, their relative…my dad. I was honored to hear all of the stories and compliments that people had to say about my dad. It was great to see how loved he was by the community in which he lived.

Before walking into the funeral home to pay my respects that Sunday night, my last impression of my dad was the seconds before and minutes after his death, a sight that will be forever burned into my memory. This disease that took his life created a man that, in the end, didn’t look my father. As my girlfriend Lori and I walking into the funeral home that night, I wasn’t sure what I should expect to see but it couldn’t have been as bad as what I had seen just a couple nights before.

A billboard was set up with a bunch of pictures of my father when he was still healthy. It was a welcome relief to see him as I had always wanted to see him…a tall man with a full, thick goatee, a pocket protector that housed his reading glasses, and of course always wearing some kind of hat. When I turned the corner and saw my dad lying in the coffin, I again realized how much cancer had devastated the person that was in the pictures I was just enjoying.

When the people came and went that Sunday night, I felt like the worst was over. Little did I know just how overwhelming the sound of a bagpipe and a bugle would be the following day. As I said goodbye to my dad for the last time before being lowered into his final resting place, I told him again that I loved him and that he was now at peace. He would suffer no more.

As the American flag was neatly folded and handed to my stepmother Janice, my father’s life was celebrated one last time by the uttering of this phrase…

“On behalf of the President of the United States, the Department of the Air Force, and a grateful nation, we offer this flag for the faithful and dedicated service of David Hackett.”

Rest in Peace Dad

Yesterday, September 13th, my father David Hackett lost his battle with cancer. Diagnosed with liver cancer, he was given approximately 6 months to live. That time-frame rapidly decreased as the cancer began to spread throughout the rest of his body. His condition declined so quickly that 6 months turned into only a couple of weeks. On Monday of this week, I received a call from my brother telling me to come home from San Francisco as soon as possible. On Tuesday night, I bordered a plane bound for Mass. not knowing whether I would get a chance to say goodbye to my dad.
 
As I got off the plane, I heard the good news that he was still hanging on, what most people in my family thought was him waiting for me to arrive before letting go of this world and entering into the next. On Wednesday afternoon at approximately 2:45pm, my dad let go of the world that had been so cruel to him over the last couple of years and was now finally at peace. He passed away on what would be my 32nd birthday.

I was fortunate enough to have the chance to say goodbye to him and tell him that I love him, a luxury that a lot of people do not get. My father and I grew apart from each other as we both grew older. Not to say that we didn’t love each other, but our conversations became less frequent and I think we confided in each other less and less. When I heard the news that he was days (or maybe hours) away from dying, a flood of emotions came over me that I was not expecting. I began to remember all of the good times we had together…playing catch in the driveway, seeing him cheer me on at my little league baseball games, playing pool with him at the Eagles, sitting down with him and his friends having our first beer together in the bar that loved so much.

When I think of my dad going forward I will remember all of those good times we had together, but I will also remember the last couple days of his life. It was a sight and an experience that i wish no one has to ever see in their life. But I will remember those last days because it reinforces in me just how special and precious life really is. Having someone close to you pass away right in front of your eyes is something that has forever changed me.

I have been volunteering and raising money for the Leukemia Society and Team in Training for a few years now.  I have been fortunate enough to know people who have been able to beat cancer and live health and productive lives, but I have never  been touched so profoundly by the devastation that cancer can cause for an individual and a family. To see what cancer had done to my father in just a matter of weeks has made me not only proud to be a part of the fight against cancer but has also opened my eyes to the work that still needs to be done so no one has to go through what I just went through the last couple of days.

Cancer has taken the life of my dad, but it will never take away the memories I have of him. Cancer may have physically destroyed my dad from the inside out, but it will never destroy who he was as a person and a father. It will never destroy my hatred for this disease and my willingness to do all that I can to help find a cure.

On December 9th, 2007 I will be running my first full marathon with Team in Training and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I will be running in honor of my dad, David Spencer Hackett.

Welcome to my totally redesigned blog site! After a couple years of reading other people’s blogs, I finally thought it was time to start writing my own blog. Thanks to Wordpress.org, I was able to customize this blog fairly pain free. Since I am new to the blogging world, it probably took me longer than most people to set this site up. Luckily, I have a good understanding of CSS, which made the customization a lot easier.  I am still working on the site, so please be patient as I add some elements and make some upgrades. Enjoy!