David Dragoo

He wanted to live to 100. He still wouldn’t have been ready to leave. My father, David Dragoo, passed away at the age of 80 on December 2, and it was not peaceful. It was absolutely terrifying for him. If you knew him, you will understand why, if not, let me explain. My father was childlike in so many ways and unfortunately death was one of them. He cried toward the end, called anyone that he knew and told them he was dying, he kicked his feet and made all sorts of declarations. He absolutely didn’t want to leave, he had more living to do and he was taking care of Sonia and myself. He was my dad. He loved me when no one else did. He loved us, our pets and our life. In looking at his phone, it was FILLED with pictures of US- our pets, him and our pets, our times out at the beach, our nights out at Root, flowers…love. His phone was filled with LOVE. He was filled with love and he told us every single day multiple times that he loved us. I hear him call my name at night and I jump from the bed to help him but he’s gone.

We should have been more adamant about making sure he had plans in place for his eventual end. We should have been more watchful over his finances but with dialysis, cancer, heart issues, and other various problems, the two of us were overwhelmed and weren’t able to reign in his double and triple paying phone bills and his medical bills. I blissfully assumed copays were included in his insurance and had no idea he had incorrectly paid at these offices so many times that we had credits. Hospitals and creditors scared him into paying large fees-he didn’t make reasonable payment plans-and as of his passing his bank account was emptied by Humana, other hospitals, their pharmacy and for his Verizon bill. He was an integral part of our household and all the bad decisions that he and we made financially over the past few years have devastated us.

His cremation has been PAID for by friends here in Georgetown that are so generous and wonderful that I don’t know how we will ever thank them. My father was so pleased that we made friends here so fast after coming here from Kentucky and these lovely people have lifted us up. Without their help, he’d still be in the hospital morgue. My wife and I are truly blessed.

Now I just want to get him back to Kentucky in the spring and interred in a plot that has already been prepared there. He has a headstone next to my mother. It is not free to open the plot and as of now it will take about $6000 to get him home and at rest. I would like to do a small service for the couple of people we have back home as they didn’t get to say goodbye and I want him to have Taps played as he served in the Navy and deserves a proper send off.

He loved it here. He got to go fishing and got a lifetime fishing license this year. He loved bowling. He absolutely loved going to dinner at Root and having people know that he was our Dad. He liked the Moose lodge. He liked “crocagators” and going to Huntington and Pawley’s. He made us macrame plant holders for our plants. He would walk around the neighborhood talking to every single neighbor, especially the little boy next door that he adored and made sure we got candy and presents for him from Dad. He was Stella, our boxer dog’s Grandpa and she looks for him…I can’t open his room because she goes in there and rips through his things. I tell you all this because he was a good man that was just full of love. He didn’t mean to leave us struggling. He didn’t mean to leave us EVER! He and my mother adopted me. He took care of my mother as she died of cancer and he took care of his mother-in-law until she died of cancer. He was always there for them. He was always there for us. Cancer took what little life he had. Cancer has taken so much from us.

So many of you have asked me how you can help. I know lots of you don’t have any money either. This is a hard time. We moved here relatively recently and our things, including his, are still in storage in Kentucky. I would like to have his belongings and at least be able to sell his tools but I am having trouble affording our storage units. We need financial help. I want to keep my family here and I need everyone’s help to do it. Thank you so much.