Phil’s fight

Here is a link to other songs recorded by Phil and his band:
More of Phil’s Music

And if you have not seen them yet, here are the links to the YouTube videos:
Jake’s tribute
Live at The Peddler

If you have trouble accessing or downloading, send an e-mail to Joe at mocniakj@columbus.rr.com.

Out of respect for Phil’s hard work and dedication in building a very reputable painting business, we plan to honor Phil in keeping his business going strong. He has three incredible painters- Tim, Tony and John- who have been very loyal to Phil through the years. It is our goal to maintain a quality company that Phil would be proud of! Please call Megan at 843-9292 if you would like a free estimate for any of your painting needs.

Phil’s good friend and “All Folked Up” band member, Joe, has an MP3 version of the Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door song played at Saturday’s memorial service. To clarify, that was Phil singing the song in three-part harmony, as well as playing the lead guitar. If you would like to receive a copy, send Joe an e-mail at mocniakj@columbus.rr.com.

He plans to post other songs featuring Phil’s vocals on the web in the near future. He will put a link to them here when they are available for download. Thanks for your interest – Phil would have a big smile on his face knowing that his music was in demand.

Our plan for Phil’s Fight website is to keep it up and running so that anytime you are missing Phil, you can visit this site to write a message to him and the family. It will be a place to remember Phil through the pictures, music and his written words. We know we would miss the ability to communicate with Phil’s friends and extended family and would mostly miss hearing stories about how Phil touched your lives. So, we hope that you will check in on occasion and write a note. It’s going to be a tough road ahead with grief and sadness, so hopefully we can help each other through the tough times. Thanks for all of your prayers and support through Phil’s journey….

Philip Jay Henry, 47, passed peacefully on January 20, 2010 surrounded by his loving family. Born in Columbus, Ohio on August 21, 1962, Phil graduated from Upper Arlington High School in 1981 and The Ohio State University in 1992 and was owner of “Painting by Phil Henry & Co”. He was a proud member of Alcoholics Anonymous. A bright spot in the lives of so many friends and acquaintances, Phil will be remembered for his quick wit, his indomitable spirit, his keen perceptiveness, his passion for the Buckeyes, his desire to protect animals, his love of music including his folk band, his beautiful voice, and his handsome, assured smile. He touched the lives of everyone he encountered.

Phil enjoyed the outdoors, all sports, and had achieved a Brown Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He was an avid climber of “the fourteeners” in Colorado and completed several Columbus Half-Marathons. After becoming paralyzed 2 ½ years ago, Phil overcame his challenges by crossing the finish line of the ‘08 Columbus Marathon on his hand-crank recumbent bike, kayaking with TAASC , working out and enjoying an extremely social life.

Phil is survived by his parents, Richard and Nancy Henry; brothers Stephen (Karen) and David (Kim) Henry; two sisters Susan (John) Barricklow and Megan (Amy Seymore) Henry; and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Phil’s family is eternally grateful for his many friends and family members, near and far, who have traveled Phil’s journey with him. “The mountains are calling and I must go.” John Muir

The family will receive friends on Friday, January 29, 2010 from 4-7 PM at SCHOEDINGER WORTHINGTON CHAPEL, 6699 N. High St. A memorial service will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at King Avenue United Methodist Church, 299 King Ave. where the family will also receive friends following the service for a brief time. Rev. John Keeny officiating.

Friends, if they wish, may make a contribution in Phil’s memory to The Adaptive Adventure Sports Coalition (TAASC), 6000 Harriet Rd. Powell, OH 43065 or to HomeReach Hospice by going to www.ohiohealth.com.

The Henry family thanks you for your messages of condolence and for sharing your beautiful words about Phil on this web site. Your support has been such a source of comfort to us.

We invite you to join us in gathering together to celebrate Phil’s life. The Henry family will receive friends at Schoedinger Worthington Chapel on Friday, January 29, 2010 from 4-7 p.m. The address for Schoedinger Worthington Chapel is 6699 N. High Street, Worthington, OH 43085 (located just south of I-270).

We will have a celebration of Phil’s life the following day at King Avenue United Methodist Church on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 11 a.m. The address for King Avenue Church is 299 King Avenue, Columbus, OH 43201.

In lieu of flowers, we request that donations be made in Phil’s name to the following organizations:

The Adaptive Adventure Sports Coalition (TAASC)
6000 Harriet Rd.
Powell, OH 43065

Ohio Health Foundation – HomeReach Hospice
180 E. Broad St.
Columbus, OH 43215

We look forward to remembering our beloved Phil with all of his caring friends and family.

Today at 3:38 p.m. our beloved Phil earned his angel wings. He passed away peacefully surrounded by his family…surrounded by love.

This afternoon as his breathing became more labored, we sensed that he was slipping away. A priest named Father Dean was walking past Phil’s room after visiting another patient, and we quickly grabbed him and asked him to pray with us. Father Dean placed his hand on Phil’s shoulder and we prayed for Phil’s peace. Father Dean said that he literally felt Phil’s body release its energy, like Phil was preparing to cross over.

Within minutes of the priest leaving, Phil’s breathing slowed dramatically. We held him, told him that we loved him, and assured him that his peace is our peace. And then he was gone.

Soon after he took his last breath, a bright red cardinal appeared just outside of his window. Cardinals were always our Grandma Katie’s favorite bird, and we’d all sit with her and watch the cardinals in her yard. Phil spent many hours with Grandma whistling at the cardinals. So today, as we said goodbye to our dear Phil, it was fitting that Grandma Katie would send this cardinal down from heaven to reassure us that she’d be waiting for Phil on the other side. What a beautiful gift.

Although our hearts are broken because we will miss him immeasurably, we are relieved that Phil will be free of pain and able to walk, run, climb…and ultimately fly. Our angel Philly.

We thank all of you – Phil’s loving friends and family – for all of your support and kindness over these past few weeks. Your compassion has sustained us.

Arrangements to celebrate Phil’s life will be forthcoming on this web site. Thank you again.

Peace, Philly. We love you.

When Phil was moved from OSU hospital into hospice a little over a week ago, we were grateful for him to be in a quieter, more peaceful environment. In fact, visiting Phil at hospice the first few days didn’t seem that different from visiting him at his house this past year. Since he had been on bed rest for 23 hours per day for the last twelve months due to the severity of his pressure sores, we’d visit him all the time, and he’d be lying on his stomach trying to heal those sores. At hospice initially, it wasn’t much different except that he seemed to sleep more and didn’t have to be on his stomach anymore. He looked like himself, which was a relief compared to how he looked in the hospital when he was hooked up to a myriad of machines.

Over the past two days, however, reality hit us like an icy tidal wave: we’re losing him, and soon we won’t be able to see him whenever we want, and hug him and hear his voice. As his condition deteriorates, we are coming closer to that painful, empty reality.

As much as we fear the future without him and as grueling as it is to watch Phil go through this process, we know that the ultimate result is that Phil will have no more hindrances, no more pain, and will no longer be held hostage by his wounded body.

I’ve been thinking back to New Year’s Eve when Phil was rushed to the hospital in septic shock and re-reading all of the entries we have written since re-starting the blog January 4th. In some ways, it feels like an eternity. In other ways, it seems like a tornado in the night that hit us so fast without warning.

This past year, Phil had been hospitalized five different times. Sometimes he’d be in the hospital for a couple of days or a week or so, but he’d always come home ok, just with some new directives from his doctors. On New Year’s Eve, we all thought it would just be another one of those trips where he needed an anti-biotic drip, or fluids for dehydration, or some other relatively simple issue. Never, ever did any of us imagine that we’d be where we are now.

Although we’ve had some time to process what is happening, it still seems surreal. In one moment, we feel at peace, and in another moment, we are overcome with sadness and tears of grief, and in another we are angry, and in another just shell shocked. But through this roller coaster of emotions, we have remained steadfast in our desire to follow the wishes of Phil and to stand together as a family.

Since Phil’s accident 2 1/2 years ago, and especially over these past 2 1/2 weeks, Phil has brought us closer together as a family. The Henry’s have always been a family with a lot of love, but now we are quicker to tell each other how we feel and to keep each other close. Phil has always been the keystone of our family, so it’s no wonder that he has managed to make all of us stronger even as he endured the toughest of times. So even though we face such a tragic heartbreak very soon, we are fortunate that Phil left us the most lasting and powerful gift of all: a family united. For that, we cannot thank our beloved Philly enough.

As I was sitting with Phil this evening and stroking his arm and holding his hand, I put both of my hands on his chest to feel his heartbeat. Although his breathing is now more intermittent, his heart still felt so powerful to me. But I guess that shouldn’t come as a surprise to me – Phil’s heart has always been big and strong.

Suddenly “The Green Mile” came to mind, and I thought how I wish that I had the power to heal Phil, like the main character John Coffey did for the terminally ill wife of the warden in “The Green Mile”. I sat close to him with my hands firmly on his chest, and I wished and wished that I could heal him. I even looked out the window, hoping to see a shooting star, but alas, the dreary, low hanging clouds and fog kept all the stars hidden. Finally I realized how powerless and helpless I was, and I began to cry. I’ve cried a lot lately, but tonight I cried until my tears ran out. And as I cried, Phil turned his head in my direction, blinked his eyes, and then calmly fell back asleep. And there it was – Phil’s big heart finding a way to comfort me and to acknowledge my pain and grief. That’s our Philly…always thinking of others, always making us smile, always being strong, always there for us, always showing his love.