Finally At Rest

 Last night, a couple hours after I posted my days update, my Dad passed away.

Two of his sisters were there with him, one had arrived only about an hour before he passed.

My Dad lived a good life, accomplished many wonderful things and lived life to it's fullest.  He was loved and will be missed by many.

I take comfort in knowing that he is finally back with my Mom.  He has deeply missed her for the past 9+ years and now they are back together again.

There will be a celebration of life in the months to come, nothing right away.  That information will be posted here.  Thank you for following along with us in these last couple of weeks.  We love you all.

Another Day of the Same

 Today marks 8 days since Dad has had any food.  In speaking to the hospice nurse that saw him again today, she told me that he is pretty much the same as yesterday, just a little bit more unresponsive.

He's a fighter, we all know that.  That being said, I am glad that he's finally getting the rest he so well deserves.  As I had mentioned previously, he has not had many good nights of sleep in a long time, so this rest is perfect.

His sister that had spent the night will be returning home and his 3rd sister will be staying with him for a couple of nights.  Again, it's nice for him to have his sisters visiting him.  I know that he appreciates that a lot.

That's really the only update.  His caregivers continue to take great care of him, which we are all so very thankful for.  

Until tomorrow.  Good Night.

As Quiet As A Mouse

 What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday while EJ and I were visiting, Dad was the most responsive we've seen in a few days.  We talked to him for quite a while, and he stayed awake for the whole thing.  The responses we got were facial expressions, single clearer words, or mumbles.  It was great.  Previously to that he would be awake for up to 15 or so seconds and then completely fall asleep.  I feel like yesterday's conversation was the one he was waiting for.

Today, I spoke to the hospice nurse after she visited him and she told me that he was unresponsive, but comfortable and well cared for.  His caregivers mentioned that they are now adjusting him every couple of hours to prevent bed soars, since he can no longer do it himself.  Today, Dad didn't move around, pull his knee to his chest, raise his arms up, hang his legs off of his bed, or do any of the other things that he's been doing.  He didn't say a word.  He was as quiet as a mouse 

One of Dad's sisters and her fiance are visiting with him today and are staying the night tonight.  I know he appreciates the company, it's nice to know that family is there.

Hope you all have a good night sleep, I have a feeling my Dad will as well.  Good Night.

Restful Night

 Last night, my Dad had a more restful night than he's had in the past couple of nights.  He's been sleeping more during the day and a bit restless at night/early morning.  Last night was better, which is great.

Dad's sister and her husband visited him again today.  I know he has appreciated those visits.  EJ and I visited with him today and mentioned that they had come by.  He (in his own way) acknowledged knowing that they had been there with a little smile.

EJ and I talked to Dad today.  We talked about my Mom and how we know that all he wants to do is be with her again.  He nodded "yes" and raised his hand to his face; he's ready.

Dad still has some pain, but surprisingly (his hospice nurse said the same thing), it's not as bad as it should be with end-stage liver cirrhosis.  So that's great.  His pain can be managed with morphine so that he can rest in comfort.

We tried playing the Giants game for him today on his speakers.  He can no longer watch TV, but we do know that he can hear everything around him.  We had the station on for a few minutes, and then he started moving around, a little agitated.  Trying to figure out why, I asked him if he wanted me to leave the radio on....to that, he said nothing.  I then asked him if it's too much noise, and he wanted me to turn off the radio, and he said "yea".  He seems to enjoy the quiet, with occasional conversation best.

We left him to rest in good hands.  His caregivers have been absolutely wonderful.  Dad's hospice nurse said once again, "He seems very well taken care of, and that makes me happy".  Me too.

Welp, my emotions are all over the place today, so I'm going to go enjoy some pizza and a cocktail!  Cheers!!

Another Change

 Now that we are on daily visits from hospice, we were able to have the same weekend nurse come visit with him today as we did yesterday.  She's fun, lively, and good with my Dad.

She noted the definite change in him from yesterday.  Today, Dad is basically not responsive.  He did have a couple of moments where you knew he was aware of what was being said.  He can also still help by raising his arms and head when his caregivers go to change his shirt, he'll move his feet around or raise his knee when he wants to, but besides that and some random twitches, he's pretty much just lying in his bed peacefully.

Today, as promised when he was bedridden and could no longer stand, we made him a cocktail.  Vodka on the rocks, of course.  EJ made the three of us cocktails.  We would give my Dad tiny sips of his with his dental sponge.

Dad was happy to have a couple of sips.  He gave us the faintest smile and fluttered his eyes for a moment.  After a couple of sips, EJ asked him if he wanted more, and he shook his head "No".  He was done.

A little while later, his sister and her husband came by for a visit.  They were there visiting with him yesterday as well, and could definitely note the difference in him in just one day.

Yesterday, we were able to call his name, and he would open his eyes and respond with either a mumble or a word.  Today, he wasn't.

Last night, he raised his arm and waved to someone who was not there.  We can only assume it was my Mom saying, "Hurry up already, Larry, I'm waiting!"

Daily Hospice Visits

 As I mentioned yesterday, we are now having daily hospice visits.

We had a new nurse (weekend nurse) today who visited my Dad.  She was great, very lively.  She will be visiting him again tomorrow.

He is still very weak.  But his mind is working.  When we talk to him and ask him questions, he will answer us with a word or two.  He is still aware of his pain, what he's feeling, and knows what is happening around him.  

Dad was able to have his sister and brother-in-law visit today.  He's aware when people are there.  When you say his name and try to get his attention, you can talk to him for a little bit......but most of the time, he'll fall asleep halfway through what you are saying.  Ah, it is what it is.

That is really the update.  Not a lot of change.  He still sleeps a lot.  He's awake for a little bit of the day, and that's the gist of it.

We are just trying to keep him as comfortable as possible.

Until tomorrow.  Good Night!

A Visit From Dad's Hospice Nurse

 My visit with Dad today was nice.  When he saw me, he gave me a big smile.  He slept for just about all of my visit and would only wake up just a couple of times, and only in 10-15 second segments.  He might just look around.  He might mumble something, or he might answer a question that we have with a few simple words.  Keeping his attention for longer than that was impossible.  His body and mind need to rest, and so they are.

Dad's hospice nurse came for a visit today.  We started out with his nurse visiting once a week, which changed to 2 times this week until today, when his nurse said that he will be visited daily from here on out by a hospice nurse.

Dad's nurse, Mike (great guy!), was surprised at how quickly my Dad had declined over the last weekend when he visited him on Tuesday.  Then again, today he was surprised by how drastic the change was compared to his visit on Tuesday.

My Dad will be spending the remaining days he has left in bed.  I know he wants to get up and do things, but his body just can not do that anymore.

The visit with Mike was good and informative.  We talked about medications and simply keeping my Dad comfortable.  He said that my Dad looks well taken care of and that he was happy about that.

Mike said that he thinks that my Dad will pass sometime within the next couple of days, or possibly sometime next week.

I know that my Dad is ready to pass.  He was ready last week.  I just hope that he is comfortable and pain-free so that he can pass in peace.

I am exhausted, so I am posting this a bit earlier than usual.  I want to make sure that I get this out to you all before I pass out tonight, and hopefully, I get a good night's sleep.