On Her Last Visit to Her Dad, This Loving Daughter Brought Him His Favorite Drink: A Rum and Cola

Daughter Gives Father His Favorite Rum and Cola as His Final Drink

They say what is said at the end is the most important. Sometimes at the end, though, actions speak louder than words. Penelope Ann chose to share her final actions of love for her dad with the world, ones that demonstrated she knew her dad well and how to bring him joy during their last visit together. A final toast, if you will.

On her last visit to see her dad, Penelope snuck a can of Bundaberg rum and cola, her dad's favorite drink, into his hospital room. With her mum as an accomplice, she pulled some of the drink into a syringe to give her father a taste. “Taste good?” she asks. Her dad can be seen nodding enthusiastically. “Hell yeah,” she laughs. “One last drink with dad before his spirit returned to the universe,” she says, later. “Until we cross paths again old man. I love you.”

Her father, who had struggled with multiple health issues for an extended period of time, was diagnosed in the final stages with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which causes obstructions in the airways, making it difficult to breathe. During that last visit, Penelope recorded a 15-minute video, a clip of which is the one she shared. She's so thankful she recorded it, to have documentation of those last moments of interaction with him. One touched commenter thoughtfully pointed out her dad's nod of enjoyment at the first taste of the drink, to which Penelope replied, “I cherish that nod so much.”

A nod can convey so much. A few days later, in a video thanking people for all their kind comments and condolences, Penelope shared that, during that last visit, she reassured her dad that he didn't need to worry about leaving her and her mother; that she would take care of her mum, with whom she's incredibly close, and shared the caretaking duties of her father with. “He looked at me and gave me a nod,” she says, “and then we said we'd be there in the morning. And, well, he wasn't there to greet us for the sunrise. And that's okay. Because he was always an early riser, so I expected nothing less from him.”

On her last visit to see her dad, Penelope Ann snuck a rum and cola, his favorite drink, into his hospital room.

@penface One last drink with dad before his spirit returned to the universe. Until we cross paths again old man. I love you. #grief #griefjourney #loss #goodbye ♬ original sound – penface