Vern L. Bennett, 78, passed away on Monday, November 30, 2009 at a local long term care facility. He was born on January 16, 1931 in Treasureton, Idaho to Clarence S. and Leah Bennett. He graduated from Preston High School in 1949.

He served in the United States Army during the Korean War. He didn’t see any battle duty, but served his country well stateside. He often joked that he wouldn’t have seen a foreign place if the Army hadn’t sent him to Atlanta, Georgia.

He met Rhoda Butterfield at the Deleta Ball Room in Pocatello in July of 1953. In his words, “it was love at first sight.” They were engaged to be married three weeks later and married for time and eternity on October 1, 1953 in the Logan LDS Temple. They were blessed with three children.

He worked in the automotive industry as a parts manager for over forty years at various local businesses. He enjoyed camping, fishing, and spending as much time as possible with his family. Most of all, he loved being with his soul mate and eternal partner, Rhoda.

He was a member of the LDS West Stake 9th Ward and was very active in the church. He was ward clerk for many, many years.

He is survived by his wife, Rhoda Butterfield Bennett, of Pocatello; two daughters -- Linda (Murry) Larsen of Pocatello, Idaho; and Kathleen (Larry) Killian of Rigby, Idaho; four grandchildren – Kerry (Shelley) Larsen of Pocatello, Idaho; Patricia Hoggatt of Chubbuck, Idaho, Rachael and Saren Bennett of Chubbuck, Idaho; two great granddaughters, Emma Kate Larsen and Brianna Mae Hoggatt; and a daughter-in-law, Lisa Bennett of Chubbuck, Idaho. His only son, Randy V. Bennett of Chubbuck, Idaho, preceded him in death on August 17th of this year at the young age of 48. Dad missed Randy immensely and I know there was a joyous father/son reunion in Heaven Monday morning.

He is also survived by two brothers Alden (Dee) Bennett, of Bancroft, Idaho; David (Roslynn) Jeppesen, of Phoenix, Arizona; four sisters, Tariessia (Mario) Poletti of Blackfoot, Idaho; Gayle Peck of Chubbuck, Idaho; Georgia Champion of Irwin, Idaho; IvaLou (David) Oliverson of Whitehall, Montana; and many nieces and nephews.

He was also preceded in death by his mother, father, two sisters and four brothers.

Since 2000, Vern and Rhoda participated in the Idaho State University Women’s Basketball Team Adoptive Grandparent Program. Vern loved participating in that great program and he loved his “adoptive granddaughters” almost as much as his real granddaughters. We all knew better than to schedule anything for days when there was a home basketball game.

He will be missed by all who knew him, but we know he will always be with us in our hearts.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, December 5, 2009, at the hour of 2:00 p.m., at the Pocatello West Stake 9th Ward Chapel, 4775 Hawthorne Rd, Chubbuck, ID. A viewing will be held Friday, December 4, 2009 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Cornelison Funeral Home, 431 N. 15th Avenue, Pocatello, Idaho and also one hour prior to the services at the church. Interment will be in the Restlawn Memorial Gardens, Pocatello.

Memorial may be made in Vern’s memory to the Pocatello Senior Citizens Center, 427 N. 6th Ave., Pocatello, Idaho 83201 Arrangements are under the direction of the Cornelison Funeral Home, 431 N. 15th Ave., Pocatello. Online guest book and condolences available at www.cornelisonfh.com.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, December 5, 2009, at the hour of 2:00 p.m., at the Pocatello West Stake 9th Ward Chapel, 4775 Hawthorne Rd, Chubbuck, ID. A viewing will be held Friday, December 4, 2009 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Cornelison Funeral Home, 431 N. 15th Avenue, Pocatello, Idaho and also one hour prior to the services at the church.

I will post a link to the obituary Wednesday.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Dad passed away this morning at approximtely 6:00 a.m. I am sure Randy was waiting at Heaven's gates with open arms.

He will be missed, but he is suffering no more.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

We met with the hospice nurse this afternoon. She was very nice and understanding. I finally feel like Dad will be taken care of, despite of the facility he is in.....they brought us punch and cookies this afternoon. It appears you have to be dying to get good care there. Oh well, it should be over with soon, and Dad willl be in a much better place and out of pain.

Dad really wasn't awake all day, but that's a good thing. The hospice nurse told us that when he is asleep, he's not in any pain.

He actually looked very peaceful today.

Friday, November 27, 2009

I spent most of the day at the hospital with Mom. She has spent way too much time there by herself, watching Dad suffer and slip away. Dr. Rahim was able to have a coherent, honest conversation with Dad about Dad's condition. Dad was able to tell Dr. Rahim that he was ready to quit fighting and go to Heaven to be with his son. Dr. Rahim told Dad that they would make sure he is comfortable, that he will not be in pain, and that there is nothing to be afraid of. The look of relief on Dad's face was enough to let me, Murry and Mom know that it is indeed time for Dad to go home. There will be no more medical intervention for Dad. He has been moved back to the rehab center, and hospice will help over the next few days. It is truly time for Dad to go to a much better place, a place where he will no longer be so ill and in pain. At one point, I was in the room alone with Dad. He looked at me and said, "I have to go." I told him, "I know, but it's okay. We will be fine and we will take care of Mom. Please say hello to Randy for me." To which he replied, "Okay, I will."

Friday, November 27, 2009

We were told yesterday by one of Dad's doctors that it is time to say our good-bye's to Dad. His incision is infected and the infection has gone into his bones. They can give him antibiotics, but they have told us that it won't do much. At this point, there is no hope that he will ever get out of the hospital. It has been recommended that we discontinue the dialysis and let him go. I agree....Dad needs to be released from his suffering here on this earth. It is okay for him to spend Christmas with Randy and our Father in Heaven. I know he will be in a much better place. He will definitely be missed, but will always be loved and always be with us in our hearts. I know that my brother is waiting for him with open arms.

Mom is actually doing amazingly well. We have seen this coming for weeks now. I know it's hard on her, but I know she realizes how ill Dad is and that it's time for us to let him know it's okay to go, we will be fine. We have a strong family circle and will definitely take care of Mom.

Even with the news yesterday morning, we had a very good family Thanksgiving. I am so thankful that Shelley's mom and aunt had dinner with us so that Kerry, Shelley and Emma could be with us yesterday. It really meant a lot to Mom and me to have everyone there....although Mom did fight it at first. We just made it so she didn't do any of the cooking.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

11:14 a.m. Mom just called and told me they are moving Dad out of ICU and to the fourth floor, room 411, West Campus. They cannot find any internal bleeding from any source. They told her that it is common for people on dialysis to become anemic and lose blood, and they are sure that is what is going on with Dad. Mom said he looked much, much better today. He is going to have a very long day because they are doing dialysis again, beginning at 3:30, so I doubt we will go see him today.

Monday, November 24, 2009

Dad was taken to the E.R. earlier this afternoon from the dialysis center because they were having some "problems." He is bleeding internally and they are not sure from where. The bleeding could be coming from an ulcer, but right now the doctors just don't know the source. They gave him a couple of units of blood and are admitting him to ICU so they can check things out further. He has been fairly ill the past few days. Hopefully, they can figure things out soon.

When Mom left the hospital around 5:00, they told her they were going to do an endoscopic study to look for ulcers in his G.I. tract, since that was the easiest place to start looking for the source of the bleeding. If they didn't find anything with the scope, they would move on from there. I spoke with her around 8. She said the hospital had called, asking for permission to do a CT scan on Dad. We assume that means they didn't find the source of the bleeding with the scope, but will just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Sunday, November 23, 2009

Dad looks really good. His color is good and he is pretty alert, but he just hasn't felt good the past few days. He has had a lot of nausea, throwing up and coughing. One of his nurses told us that they are doing some labs to check for bacteria, etc., because he just shouldn't be feeling sick to his stomach all the time like he has been. Hopefully, they will figure out what is causing Dad to be so nauseous all the time and he will feel well enough to be agreeable with the physical therapists. We should know more tomorrow.

Since we complained to his heart doctor about the conditions at the rehab center and the lack of treatment Dad was getting, he has received much better care. I guess the squeaky wheel does get attention.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Dad looked really good this morning; however, he was in another of his "mean" moods. He apparently kicked the physical therapist out and refused to even let them get him out of bed to sit a while. Medically, he is improving. It seems his biggest hurdle now is his attitude. We keep trying to impose on him how important it is that he do the physical therapy, but he just points his finger at us and says, "Don't you preach at me. If I don't feel like doing it, I'm not going to do it." I don't know how we can motivate him to do the the things he needs to do to get strong enough to come home. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to e-mail or call me.

I honestly have never seen Dad this ornery....even when I was younger and was being punished for something I did wrong.

I went to the ISU women's basketball game with Mom. It was great to see her visiting with friends, smiling and having a good time, even though the team lost the game. I may even go to the next one.

Thanks for all your support.

Wednesday, November 18, 2008, 8:26 p.m.

Mom and I met with the Admissions Coordinator at the Idaho State Veterans Home located in Pocatello. It was a very informative and encouraging meeting and Mom and I left there feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from our shoulders.

Mom said Dad was better today than she has seen him since the surgery. She spoke with two of the physical therapists and both said Dad did very well at physical therapy. He was able to work much better with the exercises for strengthening his arms and worked very hard at everything they had him do.

This was a very encouraging day and we look forward to Dad making continued progress….even if it is baby steps. I think Mom will get a much better night’s sleep tonight. You could see the relief in her eyes as we were leaving the VA center. It was good to see Mom a little relaxed for a change!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Not much to write about these days. Dad's condition just doesn't seem to be changing much from day to day. He is still not able to eat and still having a lot of nausea and vomiting. We are trying to get the internist to talk to us and let us know his thoughts on what's going on with Dad's GI tract and if there's hope it will resolve. It seems the only doctor willing to take the time to talk to us is the cardiothoracic surgeon.

In the meantime, we are meeting with the Veteran's Administration to get Dad's name on the list for the rehab center in Pocatello. It's a much cleaner, better rehab center than where he's at and he may as well use any benefits he can get from the V.A.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Murry and I went to see Dad today. Since the visitation policies at Portneuf Care and Rehab are much more relaxed than the hospital, Patty and Brianna also made a visit. Dad was not having a good day. He said he didn't feel well and didn't feel like even trying to talk. He was nauseous and having pain in his abdomen.

We thought that seeing Brianna for the first time in a month would maybe lift his spirits, and maybe it did....it's just hard to tell. He smiled at her, held her hand for a couple of minutes, but then just went back to sleep. I would like to be able to report more, but Mom's not too talkative these days. We are all just taking things a day at a time.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

I was more encouraged with Dad's progress tonight than I have been since his surgery. He looked good (other than the fact he's still in a hospital bed). He was awake, alert and his speech was more normal than I've heard in a long time. He was able to describe his physical therapy session today and we discussed what he needs to do to get out of rehab and back home. He said at first he was angry with Mom for putting him in that place, but now he realizes why she had to. He realizes he has to work hard so he can go home. He was a lot more positive tonight than he has been in a long time.

Sunday, November 8, 2009 3:48 p.m.

We just got home from visiting Dad. He has great color today and Mom says he has been more alert than she has seen him for days. He is still confused about where he is and what is going on and that will be compounded tomorrow or Tuesday when they move him to the nursing home. While we were there, he asked the nurse how he was going to out of the jail prison he was in. He still comes up with some pretty crazy things. Murry and I both agree he is looking better every day.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Despite the "dooms day" attitude of one of Dad's doctors, he seems to be getting stronger and more feisty by the day. He keeps telling Mom to help him get out of bed and when she won't....well, let's just say he has some colorful language lately! I spoke with Dr. DeLaRosa yesterday and he was cautiously optimistic about Dad's chances of full recovery. He is the surgeon who did the bypass surgery.

The problems with the GI tract still have the doctors stumped (for now), but now that he is getting nutrition through the feeding tube, he does seem to be getting stronger. His white cell count is slowly returning to normal. When it is back to normal, he will be moved to a "long term care facility" for treatment until he is strong enough and independent enough to go home. They obviously won't let him go home until he can function on his own enough that Mom can handle it by herself. Dad called Mom this morning twice, demanding that she get Kerry up to the hospital to help him get out of bed. When Mom wouldn't bother Kerry, Dad called her a coward. Angry Dad is good. In fact, Dr. DeLaRosa said that the angrier we get Dad, the better, because it may just light the fire inside him necessary for him to be motivated to cooperate with physical therapy, etc., and be released.

Dad really wants to see Emma and Brianna, but with the stricter visitor policies in place now due to the swine flu, we can't take them to the hospital. So I bought a web cam yesterday and we will see if he can see the great granddaughters that way.

Slowly, but surely, we take this a day at a time.

Friday, November 6, 2009

I just spoke with Mom (11:00 a.m.). Dad was out of bed and sitting in a chair and they were going to be starting dialysis soon. Apparently, once they can get him up and around a bit (whatever that means), he is going to be moved to a long term care facility....new fangled term for nursing home. I hate the thoughts of Dad in one of those places, but maybe they will send him to the new one that was just built and it won't be so bad....yes, there goes my pessimistic attitude again. As long as the facility they transfer him to has a good nursing staff and will take care of Dad's needs, that is the important thing. Mom didn't know when that would be happening. She is just trying to take things a day at a time, but I can tell it is really wearing on her just from the tone of her voice. She sounds very, very tired and frustrated. She has been taking some time to do things she enjoys, like bowling on Tuesday afternoons. That's a very good thing.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Dad looked better tonight than I've seen him for a long time. He was more awake, fiesty, and even a little on the arumentative side. I think that is a good sign! He is out of ICU and back in a regular room. It seems they may finally have things under control, so I'm not going to post every night. I'll keep you updated on any major events in his road to recovery. He still has a long ways to go, but we will get there a day at a time.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Dad underwent a procedure this morning to insert a feeding tube in his abdomen. They had to bypass the stomach somehow, since it's not doing it's job.

Dad was awake tonight when we went to see him....well, at least his eyes were open. He is still heavily medicated, which causes him to be very confused. With them playing "musical hospitals" the past few days, Dad doesn't know where he is....I had to tell him which facility he was at.

The procedure took longer than they anticipated because of the extreme amount of lesions and scar tissue from his extensive surgery back in 1996 to repair the aneurysms in his abdomen.

He doesn't have the tube in his nose anymore, only the oxygen. He has apparently been back to his old trick of pulling things out. He pulled off all the bandages on his stomach this afternoon. Luckily, he didn't get low enough to pull out the feeding tube they just inserted...that would have been a disaster because they couldn't have put it back in. They now have his arms tied down so he can't pull anything out. We all agree that Dad doesn't even know he is being so destructive with his hands, but until he is more coherent and not under the influence of so much medication, they are keeping his arms secured to the sides of the bed just to be safe. It's hard seeing Dad that way, but it's for his own good. He is in a room directly across from the nursing station so that the nursing staff can keep a close watch.

Hopefully, now that Dad can start getting some good nutrition, his recovery will be more on track of where it should be. I'm not sure how soon they can start utilizing the new feeding tube. From my research on the Internet today, it sounded like 24 hours from the procedure to insert it.

We feel very grateful to Dr. DeLaRosa for making the decision to transfer Dad back to the Heart and Vascular Center. He told Mom the reason he had Dad moved yesterday was that he was thoroughly disgusted with what the medical team at west campus was doing with Dad and decided Dad would be better off to remain under his care. I definitely agree!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Dad was transferred back to PMC East Campus, the Cardio Vascular ICU. His white blood cell count was up, which indicated an infection. They initially told Mom that Dad's incision was infected.

When I went to the hospital tonight to visit Dad, I happened to get there just as the general surgeon and another doctor were discussing Dad's case and about to call Mom to explain the course of action they had decided on and to get her permission. One doctor told me that he had inspected Dad's incision to see if he could see where it was infected. He was very adamant in saying the infection was not in Dad's incision. With the white blood cell count as high as it was this morning, it's obvious there was some kind of infection somewhere in Dad's body, but they really don't know where. The antibiotics he is now on should resolve that issue.

The GI tract is working properly, all except the stomach. The stomach has three mechanical tasks. First it stores the swallowed food and liquid. To do this, the muscle of the upper part of the stomach relaxes to accept large volumes of swallowed material. The second job is to mix up the food, liquid, and digestive juice produced by the stomach. The lower part of the stomach mixes these materials by its muscle action. The third task of the stomach is to empty its contents slowly into the small intestine. Dad's stomach is doing none of this. It is just sitting there, which is the problem. It's not letting any nutrition through.

Tomorrow, they are going to surgically insert a feeding tube, but they are bypassing the stomach. I hate the thoughts of Dad undergoing another surgery, but it is obviously imperative that he starts getting the nutrition he needs soon. Is this feeding tube something that is going to be permanent? Possibly, but that is an answer the doctors obviously don't have right now. The tube they will be inserting can be easily removed at a later date, if Dad's stomach starts functioning as it should. It is also very durable, so if it needs to be in place for a significant period of time, it can do that.

The doctors I spoke with tonight feel that the problem with the stomach is something that has been going on for a while, which actually explains a lot. Dad has had trouble eating from the time he got home from his hospital stay in Seattle.

The doctors assured me that Dad is not on his death bed, despite how beat up and weak he looks. They told me he is actually a very strong man, with a strong will to live. Once they get real nutrition in his body, we will see a huge improvement.

They were also doing dialysis while we were there. I asked the technician exactly why they were having to do dialyses every day, sometimes a couple of times a day. It's also tied into the nutrition problem. In order for the dialysis to keep up with the volumes of fluid being put into Dad's body through the IVs delivering his nutrition, they have to do it often and even as often as they have been doing it, they are "behind" in getting rid of the fluids.

Sunday, November 1, 2009 - evening update

Mom called around 3:00 this afternoon, asking us to come back to the hospital because they were going to do an endoscopic study on Dad at 4:00. She wanted someone to be there when the doctor reported the results.

Dr. Cook reported that they could see no obstructions or ulcers in the stomach, which is great news! The NG tube Dad has had for the past 2 days has drained all the "gunk" out of his stomach so they are going to block the tube for a few hours to see if his stomach will start working correctly.

The speech therapist is going to do a video swallow study tomorrow (another scope procedure....poor Dad). They will give him various consistencies of food and watch his swallow reflex.

Dad has been through a lot the past few days, but it's all in an effort to get him on the road to recovery. He has tolerated everything pretty well physically. We hope they figure things out soon.

I've actually been impressed with PMC, which is unusual, indeed.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Dad had dialysis this morning at 6:00 a.m., so by the time we got to the hospital at 1:30, he was pretty wiped out. They've been doing dialysis every day for the past several days because Dad's potassium level is too high.

The physical therapist came in while we were there and was going to sit Dad up in a chair for a while, despite all the IV's, etc., that Dad is attached to. The room Dad is in is pretty small, so we opted to go home and let Jason work with Dad. The physical therapist apparently had visited Dad this morning and did some bed exercises with him to try to keep his leg muscles from atrophying so bad.

We also spoke with the speech therapist. She can't work with Dad on the swallowing problem because she doesn't want to make him gag and run the risk of him aspirating. It sounded like they were going to try to do an endoscopic study tomorrow to try to see if there is some kind of blockage in Dad's stomach and try to figure out why his throat is still so swollen.

Obviously, not much more can be done until Dr. Cook figures out what is going on with Dad's digestive system. They were going to try to run some tests this afternoon and have a whole day of tests planned for tomorrow (if Dad doesn't have to have dialysis again tomorrow).

Hopefully, tomorrow night we will have some answers as to why his digestive system is not working properly and what can be done about it.

Evening update - 10.31.09

Mom and I went to see Dad this evening and were encouraged with how he looked and how he was talking.

He is now being treated by a gastroenterologist. After reviewing the results of the CT scans and x-rays taken this afternoon, Dr. Cook determined that the feeding tube in Dad's nose was not a good idea because for some reason his stomach is not draining. They replaced the feeding tube with a larger tube that is draining the fluids from his stomach. He is now getting his nutrition through his IV until they can determine what is going on with his digestive system. They put in a PIC line, which is a form of intravenous access that can be used for prolonged periods of time.

Mom was much more relaxed when I took her home and is encouraged by the activities of the day, although they really wore Dad out. We both felt more at ease with his condition, knowing that Dr. Cook seems to be aggressively attempting to determine what is going on and how to remedy it.

Good night all....have to get back to the Trick-Or-Treaters. Happy Halloween.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Dad's progress has been slower than hoped for due to his problem swallowing. His heart seems to be doing fine, but until he can get the nutrition he needs, he can't gain the necessary strength to recover from the bypass surgery. He has been moved to the Portneuf Medical Center West Campus, 4th floor, room 14 for further testing. They want to do some CT scans, etc., which can only be done at West Campus, to try to determine why he can't swallow.

They had trouble last week doing the full four hour sessions of dialysis because Dad's blood pressure kept dropping too low. They were finally able to do a full session on Thursday. Hopefully, they will also be able to figure out what causes his blood pressure to drop during dialysis.

Thank you all for your continued concern and prayers for our family. We love and appreciate you all.