Hospice

Two ladies from Hospice came to the house today to get the ball rolling there. The first was a Hospice nurse, Freda (SUCH a wonderful lady). The second was a Hospice social worker who asked a million and one questions about Dad--everything from his job before retirement to whether he has anxiety.

While they were there, a gentleman showed up to deliver Dad's hospital bed. There is something a bit surreal about having a hospital bed set up for your father in the same room where he used to tickle you until you couldn't breathe back when he was young and healthy.

I had to leave to go pick up my kiddos from school then, and as I was on my way, Mark called me and told me a sweet story. It turns out that there are certain perks to having a husband who works in the pharmacy business (he is the I.T. director for a family-owned chain of pharmacies here in Cleveland). He told me that Gina, one of the pharmacists, had called him and made him cry. One of the hospice nurses had called in some prescriptions for Dad to Medical Center Pharmacy (where Mark works), and Gina had recognized Dad's name. She called Mark and told him that she was going to fill the 'scrips immediately and get them delivered ASAP, and if there was anything Dad needed--day or night--to call. Mark was really touched at her kindness (as am I!).

When I got my kids, Dan said he wanted to go to Papa and Gammie's, so we stopped by for a few minutes. Dan decided to test-drive Dad's new bed, so I took a picture of him (with my cell phone, so the quality is pretty bad).

You can see from the picture how swollen Dad's belly is, despite having it drained only a week or so ago. Hospice may be able to place a permanent drainage tube in it, though, to allow him to drain the fluids at home, a little at a time.

Thanks for reading and praying. I will post more when I have the energy.