he says she's one day closer to better...
My lovely stepmother is dying now- we pulled the IV Wednesday a week ago, hoping for a peaceful renal failure, rather than CHF from fluid overload, or sepsis from bowel perforation/C.Difficile infection. That was a very hard decision for dad to make; he still thought that magic might happen. If you're interested, this is Dad:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
We're on the deathwatch now, and there ain't no accounting for how long its gone on so far. I had to have a sitdown discussion with dad last week, about where we were in this, 'cause he was having all kinds of magical thinking things going on. 'She'll tell you when she comes home where the Christmas tree should be, and how it should be decorated'. Not. She'd already been in a coma for a week at that point.
But we had that talk, and he didn't hate me for saying what, to me, needed to be said. What he said was, 'Come here, dear, and keep talking to me. I need to get cleaned up and shave. Come talk to me while I get that done.' And I was fascinated, watching my dad shave for the first time time I can remember since I was 4. I just turned 42.
He's doing alright. I am too. Lovely husband and I will be heading back thataway as soon as someone says the word- we're just trying to conserve LH's leave time for when its really needed. Sitting around fidgeting doesn't seem to meet standards- he'll need us more after, I think. And the dog helps- she is beautiful, and she knows that she's dad's dog. They are sleeping together, every night, on the couch at the hospital. He has her to look forward to.
Don't really know why I'm writing this; it's just difficult to watch, close or distant. He's doing it with a fair degree of grace and style, and I am just amazed at his fortitude.