My Daddy was Dr. Stephen L. Berman, by, Christian Karen Berman

I remember this day very clearly, I watched Adam 12 & Emergency on T.V. & ironically very soon after, since my Dad's 02 was very low, even on his 02 machine, my brother Larry had to call an ambulance & have them take my Daddy to the E.R. He hadn't been doing well that, but I never thought he'd have to actually be taken by ambulance to the hospital, but he was so much worse this day! A few day's before, I had gave him a haircut he asked for, I had to climb over his big lazy boy chair & his lap many times over to get it perfect! (Ironically the I.C.U, butchered his hair cut, cut it real short to put his 02 mask over) To thank me for the haircut he sang "You, You, You, I'm in love with, you, you you!" His cardiologist was watching him by phone, I was worried & thinking at least his hair would look good in the hospital! They're was a major flu epidemic at the time, that's why my Dad was avoiding going to the hospital! He was afraid of catching the flu (Ironically he never caught the flu the month he was there) The reason he had trouble breathing & a low oxygen level was because he had congestive heart failure & his heart didn't pump right, he needed the fluid drained from his lungs so he could breath easier! He also had diabetes & stage 3 Kidney failure which was caused by a diabetes drug he was on, so he was forced to switch to insulin & watch his diet very carefully, he was good at it for the most part, he didn't have much sugar! I road in the Ambulance with him, I didn't really feel like going, but in the back of my mind I wondered is this going to be it, is this for real, is this the last time he'd be leaving this house, I tried not to believe it & just think what a fun adventure riding in an Ambulance to the hospital! A few hours before my Dad asked me to sit on his lap, he knew how much I loved sitting on his lap, this would be the very last time! He must have sensed that somehow, very sadly! On the way to the hospital Emergency room, I asked the driver why she wasn't driving fast, she said because she wanted to get there safely & he was stable! His 02 level was 72% & he was on an 02 machine when the paramedics arrived! Normal 02 is 100%, but anything less than 96% is not good! We made it there safely, I got bored in the hospital & upset as I was, I knew that we were going to be there a while so I took my first selfie, in the bathroom in my Dad's E.R. room! My Daddy was my whole world & I loved him more than anyone! I never thought he could die & leave me I loved him so much! My Daddy always smiled at me calmly & lovingly & said " I Love you more than you'll ever know!" He was my Ba-Ba & I was his Wa-Wa & his Coo-Coo, he made up all kinds of nick names for me, I sometimes called him Dr. Berman, because he really missed teaching so much & being called that, in the hospital there was a sign by his bed, "Please refer to as Dr. Berman",( he had a P.h.D. in Education, & won a Lifetime Achievement Award, among at least 20 Who's Who in the World & America Awards, a famous Educator & Author! ) meaning not Mr. Berman, the hospitalist called him Stevie, meant in a sweet, caring, loving way! I really miss my Ba-Ba and my Mom! My Dad told his cardiologist this a few weeks before he died referring to me, "I CAN'T DIE, HOW CAN I LEAVE HER, SHE NEEDS ME TOO MUCH!!! "His cardiologist told me a week after he died, it was a little comforting, but truer words were never said, he never would talk about dying & leaving me, he refused too! I was upset when he was in the hospital for so long & missed him being at home with me & he was not doing so well, a few times I cried out emotionally, hysterically & frantically over the phone, Please don't leave me, take me with you, I want to go with you!" (My Mom died of a complication of stage 3 1/2 colon cancer, Septic shock an internal infection.) For my Mom's funeral I lovingly picked the song "My Mother" from the Chipette's! My Dad's song was "Tears in Heaven", by Eric Clapton! They were the most loving, over protecting, giving parents in the world & I loved them more than anybody!