CAREGIVER NOTE:
Our role as caregivers ended last evening at 7:12 pm MDT. He passed as he’d wished. At home and not alone. I’m very grateful we were able to fulfill that wish for him. Services are pending. It’s been an honor for our family to be his caregivers the last two and a half years. We miss him already!

POSITIVES:
He was ready to move on
He was able to rest more comfortably yesterday than he had the day and evening previous
Son #4 and I were with him when he took his last breath – he was not alone.

CAREGIVER NOTE:
He had a pretty good day overall… Meds seem to be adjusted and he seemed a little more settled yesterday. He did sleep well Saturday night into Sunday. The pneumonia is being addressed aggressively. Antibiotics, breathing treatments and sitting up for deeper breathing. The only problem with his sitting up is that he does try to get out of bed a little more frequently. He “played” with his sheets teasing me about getting out of bed but didn’t. He’s in there and hopefully, will continue to improve. The boys are on board with the current plan — giving him a few more days before making the decision regarding starting hospice care for additional supports and services.

POSITIVES:
He ate a good breakfast –
Lots of smiles throughout the day — with some very lucid moments
Showed kindness to those helping him yesterday.

CAREGIVER NOTE:
We spent all of last evening (Sunday) in the ER – He fell. He was having an hallucination and lost his balance as he tried to get out of bed. Needless to say, he got a ride in an ambulance, a series of full body CT scans, x-rays and a full blood work up within the first hour of arriving. It was a pretty busy night there. It didn’t take long to determine that he had injured his left hip and that surgery would be necessary to repair it. Luckily, there was a room and staff to cover his admittance to the hospital as an inpatient and surgery was scheduled for just 3 hours after his being admitted.

He had his first PT, OT and Respiratory therapy sessions today. His recovery will certainly take longer as the procedure needed has a longer healing time and he won’t be able to put full on pressure on the leg for nearly a month.

He’s already trying to get out of bed on his own — I think I’ll have my hand full tomorrow – even though the block will have worn off by tomorrow morning.

POSITIVES:
He was full of gratitude to the nurses, CNA’s and techs who helped him out over the course of the day.
He was able to choose his Ala Carte meals from the hospital dietary menu without too much problem and ate well.
A friend from church brought him a bouquet of flowers to brighten the room.

CAREGIVER NOTES:

POSITIVES:
Laughter
Lots of smiles
Open to options and making choices

CAREGIVER NOTE:
Another wild dream last night. Thankfully, it was short-lived and he was able to go back to sleep without any more instances of “visitors and yelling.”

POSITIVES:
A few well intended zingers
He suggested a bath and set the schedule for it
Lots of lucid moments – asking questions about something he seemed very interested in

CAREGIVER NOTE:

Last night’s vivid dream was filled with laughter and a few smiles. It was such a different thing to listen to. Grateful to say the least — however, we still need a little more time for the adjusted meds to work effectively. Fingers crossed within the next couple of weeks we’ll experience the desired results.

POSITIVES:
Laughter
Good appetite
Supportive and caring conversations in the moment