My father was complaining of flu like symptoms, had no appetite and runny nose, though still in good spirits and seemed to have no real concern. 1 week later after the symptoms had not gone away he went to see his primary care physician and was admitted to the hospital. He was told he likely had pneumonia , and did not discharge him. At this point he still sounded great. He said the doctor performed a colonoscopy and took him for scans for further testing. 2-3 day after being admitted he was still waiting for the results when he was rushed into emergency surgery. I received a call at midnight from my dad informing me that he was going into surgery for a perforated bowel. I never spoke to him again. After surgery he was placed on life support with a breathing and feeding tube . The doctor said his bowel was perforated and that he suffered from sepsis and peritonosis. For the next 13 days I waited for signs of recovery and was told his chance of survival was unlikely and removed him from life support. I remember the doctor telling me he did a colonectomy and Hartmann type procedure, but I just don t understand how his bowel became perforated? He was only 52 years old, was active and overall healthy. Please help me understand.