You Never Listened

Immediate Cause: Septic Shock; DIC

Interval Between Onset and Death: 24 hours

Antecedent Cause: Cellulitis

Interval Between Onset and Death: 3 weeks

Underlying Cause: Esophageal Cancer Stage IV

Interval Between Onset and Death: 1 year

I told you to go to the doctor when your feet first started to swell. You wouldn't listen and said it would be fine if we just wrapped them with compression wrap. "The swelling will go down." I insisted it was a problem that needed to be looked at. I didn't know at the time what it was exactly, but it was clearly an issue. You didn't realize that you had a serious bacterial skin infection. And by the time the doctors actually did take a look at them it was too late. The cancer had already been spreading for a while, and the cellulitis had simply sped up the progression. You were a goner by the time it got to your kidneys. The cancer caused them to become unable to properly filter out wastes. The infection had inevitably led to sepsis. And before we knew it your kidneys had failed.

Time of Death: 10:00 p.m.