We all have our ways of honoring the memories of our loved ones who have passed away. For these sisters who lost their dad to COVID-19, their tribute came in the form of tattoos.
Anna Harp, 27, and Abrielle Clausing, 21, got tattoos of their late father’s final note to their family.
Anna describes her dad, Rudolph Clausing, as “the hardest worker” and “the most selfless person” she’s ever met.
Rudolph was a friend to everyone, and he always tried to see the best in people.
“We would be at the grocery store sitting out in the car …and he would always walk outside talking to someone like he’s known them forever,” Anna said. “I’ve always admired that about him, that he so effortlessly could make someone smile.”
Rudolph was suffering from hereditary lung disease and got sick with COVID weeks before Thanksgiving.
For the entire year leading up to when their dad got ill, Anna said she and Abrielle were “obsessive” about his health. And him contracting the virus was their “worst nightmare come true.”
Rudolph was in and out of the hospital for months as he battled COVID. One January night, his family noticed that he was struggling and called an ambulance to get him to the hospital.
“Once he was back in, it was just like, endless, like no good news, basically, like he wasn’t recovering,” Anna said. “It just seemed like, his lungs were just tired and they couldn’t work anymore.”
The sisters and their mother were able to say goodbye to Rudolph at the hospital. There, they found a note he had written from his hospital bed. It said, “It has been such a good life.”
Even during his final moments, Rudolph thought of them. He made an effort to let them know that he’s grateful for the life he’s had.
“He’s such a selfless person to be thinking about other people on the last moments of his life. He thought to write this note to us, so that we knew that he had a good life, and he was at peace with the life that he had,” Anna said. “That just shows like the type of person he was.”
Rudolph breathed his last on January 13.
After his passing, Anna and Abrielle wanted to honor his memory by getting tattoos of his words. So, the sisters drove to Tulsa, Oklahoma, a few hours away from their Siloam Springs, Arkansas, home, to get their tattoos done by Dustin Cleveland, Anna’s favorite tattoo artist.
Anna got a tattoo on her right thigh, adorned with two flowers in bloom, while Abrielle got their dad’s exact handwriting from the note tattooed on the inside of her upper arm.
Anna explained the significance of getting those tattoos. She said:
“It was just really important to us because we just have so much love for him. This was the only way we could think to show it and just have this reminder everyday that he did live such a good life.”
Anna posted a video of them getting the tattoos on TikTok, where it got an overwhelming response. To date, over a million people have watched it, and thousands of others have left heartfelt messages of love and condolences.
Anna said that it’s “crazy,” because after something as tragic as losing a parent happens, one can feel so “isolated.” She sees people online living their normal lives, but she knows she’s never going back to that. So seeing all those comments made her realize that they weren’t alone in this.
Click on the video below to see Anna and Abrielle getting their tattoes.
@fairyontheprairieMy dad passed away due to Covid five months ago and left us a note on his hospital bed. My sister and I got it as a tattoo recently. 🥺🤎♬ marjorie – Taylor Swift
Please share this story with your friends and family.