I have been having a battle of my own this past week. I am getting better but these last days have taken their toll on me.
My son, my daughter,, and I had many decisions to make during Earnie's final days. His final stage began with high sodium levels. We made a decision to give him water intravenously for 36 hrs. to see if he could recover/ After t he drip, he did not reduce the sodium meaningfully. He was put on pureed food and thickened fluids. We decided not to put in a feeding tube, and just wanted him to be comfortable. HE kept eating and drinking even though we knew it was not helping him nutric ously as he kept losing weight. At his last weighin he was at 110 lbs. after every feeding or drinking, he would get hiccups and they werre quite painfull. He was put on Vicodin and finally on Rexadol? We also had hospice. my son and i made the painful decsioin to terminate the eating and drinking because of its painful consequences. When we arrived at the hospital, Earnie had already made the decision for us....he refused to eat or drink. He then became comfortable and stayed without pain until his passing.
All of the children and some of th e gr andchildren arrived and we then kept vigil day and night for 10 days at his bedside. he succumbed just 20 minutes before our wedding anniversary. I believe he was giving me a last gift of marking our wedding date. Hhis passing was very peaceful.
joyful, thank you for your message. those of us who will follow find courage and knowledge in your testament and are thankful your dear Earnies passing was peaceful- surrounded by those who he loved. divvi
joyful/carewife I've been thinking about you, too. Now even more so. We were at St. Anthony's Hospice, just down the road from where you were at hospice. Even though we don't know each other, we will still be connected. My wife will be buried at JB on Thursday. Maybe she'll run in to Earnie.
God Bless you and your loving family. You are so lucky to have had them all gathered around supporting you and each other. Take care of yourself, you should be very proud of the wonderful way you cared for your DH. Happy Annivesary, how wonderful that you were together for so long.
So many, many souls taken from us, all too soon and all too sadly. You'll be together again...until then, take care of yourself and may God comfort you.