A story of Brad's passing

This story is not mine to tell. I will have some of the facts wrong, because it was told to my mom who passed it on to me. But the stories I have, directly, are too heartbreaking. So I will tell this love story:

When a nurse told Heidi that Brad was close to passing, Heidi called her mom (who had their son, Lato) and told her they needed to come immediately. When they got to the hospital, Lato ran in, ran up the stairs and into the room. He hugged his dad and said, "Daddy, Daddy, I love you, I love you!"

After a few moments, the nurse gently said, "Lato can you move just a little? I need to listen to his heart." Brad's heart had stopped. The nurse said, "He gave you his last heart beat."

The chaplain came with a lump of clay and asked Lato if he would make it into a flat sheet, very smooth, and showed him the dimensions. He did, and turned it over to make the other side smooth also. "Now we are going to press your Dad's handprint into this. And anytime you want to hold his hand, you can put your hand here. And as you grow up, your hand will fit into his hand."

Brad used to write Heidi and Lato a note every night, and he would sign it "Brad/Dad." Lato put "Brad/Dad" under the hand print. At the top, on one side, he drew a peace symbol, and on the other side he drew a heart.

(If you are not crying by now, you must not be human.)

And I admit to, and not apologize for, shedding tears while I type.

Ride on, Brad, ride on.
below: Lato, Heidi, Brad, Ocho